Staff Reports
A Columbus police officer was transported to Columbus Regional Hospital as a precaution after possibly being exposed to fentanyl while trying to help a man overdosing inside his vehicle.
Officers were sent to the 2200 block of North National Road at 5:10 p.m. Monday on a report of an overdose, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
Officers found Jonathan K. Mings, 27, of 4875 Timbercrest Drive, unresponsive in a vehicle and administered two rounds of naloxone to Mings, who then regained consciousness, Harris said.
While speaking to Mings, the officers observed drug paraphernalia inside his vehicle as well as small white-colored rocks, which were later determined to be fentanyl, Harris said.
Officers are extremely careful when dealing with unknown drug substances, wearing gloves and other protective gear, Harris said. But when officers were packaging the fentanyl while collecting evidence, it crumbled and became airborne, causing an officer to possibly become exposed to the drug, he said.
The officer became light-headed at the scene, but after being taken to the hospital for treatment for possible exposure, the officer was later released, Harris said.
Mings was also transported to the hospital for treatment and after being discharged, he was placed under arrest, Harris said.
Mings was taken to the Bartholomew County Jail on preliminary charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, jail officials said. He was later released under the probation department’s program that allows certain qualifying offenders to be released without posting bail, according to jail records.
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Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent. Synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, are now the most common drugs involved in drug overdose deaths in the United States.
— Source: drugabuse.gov.
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