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A group of friends meeting up for some drinks and getting high off cocaine weren’t particularly planning on dying during their social gathering, but that’s exactly what almost took place late Friday night.
  
A medical rescue call placed to Century Station of three men who were unconscious and unresponsive prompted an emergency response by deputies on January 18, 2018. 
 
When deputies arrived to the residence in the 2600 block of 108th Street in Lynwood, deputies located and recognized three males suffering from a possible fentanyl overdose, as they showed a faint pulse, extremely slow breathing, were foaming at the mouth and had bloody noses.
 
In an effort to revive them and save their lives, the deputies administered their Department-issued Narcan®.  After a first dosage appeared to have little to no effect on the lifeless men, the deputies administered a second dosage, which proved successful.  All three men began to gasp for air and immediately showed additional signs of improvement.
 
“If it wasn’t for deputies’ actions and their administration of Narcan® as life-saving measures,” said LA County Fire Captain Almada, the men would have likely died.
 
While still at the scene, the deputies were determined to locate the dangerous substance and in doing so, encountered a fourth male adult to the rear of the residence who also appeared to be suffering from the same effects of the possible opioid overdose.
 
All four men were subsequently treated upon the arrival of Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel who administered additional medical treatment before transporting them to a local hospital. 
 
The men are reported to be in stable condition.
 
“The deputies are well trained and they don’t hesitate.  It goes to show they’re really there for the community and we are excited and proud of their efforts,” said Century Station Captain Kerry Carter.  “The deputies did a fantastic job.”

An ongoing investigation by LASD Narcotics detectives found that within minutes of ingesting the suspected cocaine, all four individuals became ill and ultimately lost consciousness.  It appears that the suspected cocaine was actually fentanyl.
 
On a daily basis, law enforcement personnel are the first to arrive at the scene of a medical emergency.  Many of these patients are suspected of suffering an opioid emergency, and require immediate assistance. Unfortunately, an average of 91 people per day nationwide become fatal statistics from opioid overdose.
 
**It should be noted that the day following the incident, one of the Century Station deputies from this call for service responded to another emergent rescue call. Upon arriving, he located an unresponsive 36 year-old male whose face had turned blue, did not appear to be breathing and had a faint heartbeat.  The deputy immediately recognized these signs to be that of a possible fentanyl overdose and again administered his Department-issued Narcan®. In doing so, the man gasped for air, regained his color and the promising signs of life were quickly restored.**
 
For media inquiries, please contact Sheriff’s Information Bureau at 213-229-1700.
 
Anyone with information about these incidents is encouraged to contact the Century Sheriff’s Station at (323) 568-4800. If you prefer to provide information anonymously, call “LA Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), using your smartphone by downloading the “P3 MOBILE APP” on Google play or the App Store, or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org  
 
Authored by:
Juanita Navarro-Suarez, Deputy
@LASDJuanita
Sheriff's Information Bureau - Newsroom
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
211 West Temple Street,
Los Angeles California 90012
213-229-1700
 
Website: http://www.lasd.org  
 
 
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Alex Villanueva, Sheriff
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department