After years of being sober, 31-year old Kyle Brinton fell back into heroin and died of an overdose at his home Saturday night --- before help arrived.
Related >> Lacey man overdoses on heroin; Family calls for shame of addiction to end
After the story about Brinton's death aired on KIRO 7 at 7, more than 250,000 people saw it on our Facebook page.
Days later, the police officers who responded to Brinton's overdose trained to help stop it from happening again.
The Lacey Police Department will become the 30th law enforcement agency in Washington state to carry naloxone --- a prescription nasal spray that reverses the often fatal effects of opioids such as heroin.
The training was scheduled before Brinton’s death, in the hopes of preventing the pain being experienced by his family and fiancée.
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“He didn’t want to die, he was so excited to be a dad,” Brittany Johnson, told KIRO 7 before a candlelight vigil in Brinton’s honor Tuesday night.
Lacey police Sgt. Jaime Newcomb said he’s witnessed naloxone being given to people who have “over-dosed and died, and they are brought back.”
Each Lacey police car will carry two doses of naloxone.
The cost per dose is about $50-$75.
Newcomb expects all police cars to be equipped with the naloxone kits within the next few weeks.
Dr. Marc Stern, of the University of Washington School of Public Health, taught the Lacey Police Department how to use naloxone.
He told KIRO 7 the friends and family of all addicts should talk to their own doctors about possibly getting a prescription.
“It’s equally important that friends and family of people who use opiates are also prepared,” he said.