AURORA, Colo. -- A man was purple, slumped over in the bathroom of a King Soopers with a needle of the ground when an Aurora police officer showed up.
Often times, police officers are the first on the scene of a drug overdose, like the one that happened Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. at the Aurora grocery store.
Officer Francine Martinez, a former paramedic, knew she had to act fast. She grabbed overdose antidote Naloxone -- commonly referred to as its brand name, Narcan -- as she got out of her police car and responded to the call.
"It’s really nice to have because you’re not just standing there thinking, 'Oh gosh what can I do? What can I do?'" said Officer Martinez.
After she administered the Narcan, she began CPR. By the time an ambulance arrived the man was conscious and talking.
Aurora police officers just received this life-saving antidote a month ago, and Officer Martinez didn't imagine she would be using it so soon. She admits overdose calls like this are on the rise, and there was a similar call the night before.
The Colorado Attorney General says that in September of last year, there were 23 law enforcement agencies in Colorado that carried Naloxone. But a new initiative called the "Colorado Naloxone for Life" initiative has resulted in 130 agencies having access to it by the end of last month. More agencies are expected to follow suit.
The app associated with the initiative that tracks overdose reversals shows there have already been 172 reversals since Jan. 1.
The 23-year-old man was back at work on Tuesday. He told Denver7 over the phone he would like to meet the officer who saved his life.
"It made me happy that he made it through," said Officer Martinez.
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