MENDOCINO Co., 1/29/20 — An inmate of the Mendocino County Jail, which is operated by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), overdosed on drugs this morning and was briefly hospitalized. The drugs were likely some kind of opioid and the innate, whose name has not been released, was found unresponsive yesterday, was administered three doses of Narcan, an a drug which blocks the effects of opioids, and eventually sent by ambulance to the hospital. He was later returned to the jail.
We have not been able to contact the MCSO for further details today, but will update later.
The MCSO first announced that the agency would begin using of Narcan, which was distributed to both field staff and jail staff, last April, and since then has publicly announced using the drug in at least three situations prior to this most recent overdose in the county jail.
Here is a statement from the MCSO released on their Facebook page:
Holding Cell Overdose
On January 28, 2020, Corrections Deputies and a Registered Nurse (RN) were checking on inmates in the jail’s holding cells as part of their normal duties. When deputies entered one of the holding cells, they found a 26-year-old male arrestee that was in an altered state of consciousness. Deputies attempted to rouse the arrestee but were unsuccessful.
The deputies had the RN enter the cell. The RN took vital signs on the arrestee. While the nurse was evaluating the arrestee, one of the Corrections Deputies noted that there was a torn plastic baggie in the toilet.
After an evaluation, the RN determined that the arrestee might be overdosing. The RN asked for an ambulance to be called to the jail. As staff were calling for an ambulance, the nurse administered Narcan to the arrestee. The nurse checked the arrestee’s vital signs again and noted an improvement.
Staff noted that there were two more empty baggies on the floor next to the arrestee. The RN gave the arrestee a second dose of Narcan. A jail Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) arrived to assist and took vital signs on the arrestee. A third dose of Narcan was administered to the arrestee.
As jail medical staff continued to monitor the arrestee’s condition, the ambulance service arrived. The arrestee was transported to the hospital to receive further treatment and was later returned to the jail.
The jail contracts with Naphcare, a private medical provider, for the medical care of inmates in the facility.
MCSO