Hamburg officer revives overdose victim with NARCAN

HAMBURG — A Hamburg police officer on Oct. 11 saved a heroin overdose victim using NARCAN to reverse the effects.

According to police at 4:15 a.m., Officer Jason Tangorra responded to a call of a possible heroin overdose. Upon arrival, Tangorra found a 24-year-old male exhibiting signs of a heroin overdose as well as recent use of heroin. Police said as Tangorra was speaking to the male patient he became completely incoherent, his pulse slowed and his eyes began rolling back in his head.

Officer Tangorra administered NARCAN to reverse the effects of the heroin. Within several minutes the male patient showed signs of improvement and was able to speak with him. Upon the arrival of paramedics, the patient was transported to Newton Memorial Hospital for treatment. Tangorra was subsequently notified that had he not administered the NARCAN there was a good possibility that the patient could have suffered from brain damage as the result of the heroin overdose. The patient, in this instance, has no prior involvement with the Hamburg Police.

The Hamburg Police Department, with the full support of Mayor Paul Marino and the Borough Council recently implemented the NARCAN Program in which all officers have been trained to use it according to the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office guidelines.

The program has been implemented within the past week and this was the first use of NARCAN by the Hamburg Police Dept. Tangorra was assisted by Sgt. O Rourke of the Hardyston Police, Hamburg EMS and St. Clare's Paramedics.