Heroin Addict OD’s Twice In A Week – Revived By Police Both Times

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CCT – An alleged heroin dealer was arrested early Wednesday morning following his second overdose at a Yarmouth motel in a week. According to a Yarmouth police release, officers were dispatched to the Bayside Resort at 225 Roue 28 in West Yarmouth for an unresponsive male. Upon arrival, officers revived the man by using the opioid-reversing drug Narcan.

The man was identified as 50-year-old Edward M. Matz III of 25 Water Street, Apt. 2 in Milford, MA. Matz was transported to Cape Cod Hospital following the incident. This would be the second time Matz was revived during a heroin overdose in one week, police said. Earlier in the week, officers responded to the Ambassador Inn on Route 28 in South Yarmouth where Matz was also given Narcan following an overdose.

This is probably going to cause an uproar, but this is the problem with police carrying Narcan. If there is one consistency with addicts it’s that if you give them an inch they take 300 miles. Police carrying Narcan will give addicts a sense of entitlement to it, it’s like a safety net that they will eventually begin to rely on. They know that if they happen to OD they get a do over, it’s like Groundhog day for addicts.

Deep down the cops can’t be happy about this added weight on their shoulders. When a cop responds to a scene they rely on their training and their instinct is to secure the area, make sure there is no public threat, they can’t properly do that if they are playing EMT. We don’t give paramedics handcuffs and guns, why do we give police Narcan? Saving lives is great and all, but this is going to cause problems, mark my words.

At some point, addicts are going to get so used to cops saving their lives that they will look at it as a right. Eventually a police officer is going to have to make a choice, save a person that OD’d or do the job he is trained to do and be cop and someone will die. Then some family member blinded by grief is going to sue. At some point police are going to be held responsible for medical treatment and sued over something they weren’t meant to do in the first place that is way outside of the scope of their job description. The possibility of this will eventually hinder their ability to do their job and put their life at risk. It’s not right for us to put them in that position.

Cue the comments calling me a heartless bastard…

P.S. Before you get all pissy saying this guy has a disease and is a victim, take a look at this…

“Looking into Matz’s criminal history, police discovered 142 prior criminal charges in Massachusetts, several of which were felony drug dealing charges. Based on these findings, officers searched Matz’s room at the Bayside Resort where they seized 29 knotted, corner-cut baggies each containing heroin.”

So should a police officer be more worried about reviving this guy, or if there’s another dude in the bathroom with a machine gun?

P.S. Just wanted to remind everyone that compassion for drug addicts and the opinion that police should be police and medics should be medics can both exist in a person at the same time.

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Twitter: Hippie - Insane Tony

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Comments 20

  1. Letting sick people die is not justice. The justice-by-death approach you endorse might work in Saudi Arabia, but not here in America. Well the man you're talking about (Edward M. Matz) was arrested by the police that saved his life. So I see this as a win-win. A heroin dealer is now in the hands of the justice system and a life has been saved. How could you be against that?

    We heard this same argument from the far-right during the AIDS epidemic in the 70s and 80s. I guess you're from the same "let them die" philosophy. The way to combat these deaths are with education, intervention, and rehabilitation.

    A police officer's job is to protect and serve the public. The Cape has experiencing an opiate epidemic. Your solution is to let them die. Do you want officers to make judgement calls on which lives are worth saving and which ones aren't. I wouldn't be here without Narcan and I'm glad that the officers that revived me didn't have to run a criminal background check before deciding to do so, or I'd be dead. Narcan has saved over 10,000 lives since it started being used to reverse overdoses. What would you say to those people? What would you say to the parents of children who overdosed? The heroin epidemic is not pretty, but Narcan is at least giving us a chance at helping people before they are lost forever.

  2. Letting sick people die is not justice. The justice-by-death approach you endorse might work in Saudi Arabia, but not here in America. Well the man you're talking about (Edward M. Matz) was arrested by the police that saved his life. So I see this as a win-win. A heroin dealer is now in the hands of the justice system and a life has been saved. How could you be against that?

    We heard this same argument from the far-right during the AIDS epidemic in the 70s and 80s. I guess you're from the same "let them die" philosophy. The way to combat these deaths are with education, intervention, and rehabilitation.

    A police officer's job is to protect and serve the public. The Cape has experiencing an opiate epidemic. Your solution is to let them die. Do you want officers to make judgement calls on which lives are worth saving and which ones aren't. I wouldn't be here without Narcan and I'm glad that the officers that revived me didn't have to run a criminal background check before deciding to do so, or I'd be dead. Narcan has saved over 10,000 lives since it started being used to reverse overdoses. What would you say to those people? What would you say to the parents of children who overdosed? The heroin epidemic is not pretty, but Narcan is at least giving us a chance at helping people before they are lost forever.

  3. How do you get charged with crimes ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY TWO TIMES and stay out of jail? I thought the drug court was for first offenders. 142nd offenders should be locked away from the law abiding public. Charges don't necessarily mean convictions, but with 142 charges, half are probably convictions. Consider states that have a "3 strikes" law. The law imposed a life sentence for almost any crime, no matter how minor, if the defendant had two prior convictions for crimes defined as serious or violent (California).
    More than half of inmates sentenced under the law are serving sentences for nonviolent crimes.
    Convicted criminals have been given life sentences for offenses including stealing one dollar in loose change from a parked car, possessing less than a gram of narcotics, and attempting to break into a soup kitchen.
    There are a disproportionate number of minorities locked away for LIFE for three offenses. This idiot is chasing the dragon AND selling it. We need heroin dealers off the street. I don't want some kid to die because guys like this caused cops to stop carrying Narcan. Better to focus on putting heroin dealers in jail and leaving them there.

  6. narcan doesnt enable anyone. no addict is thinking "hey i can take this extra dose cuz a cop will come save me" all they are thinking about is the drug. and the last thing they want is to go into withdrawals which is exactly what narcan does.

    i believe a big part of the problem is these drugs being illegal and forced into the black market where sketchy shit happens.

    and one question for HIppie…
    what is your view on giving friends and family of addicts narcan? are you against just cops having to give narcan or just against narcan all together?

  8. I agree with the police not delivering narcon. They should be saving that for trained EMT's. I don't agree that we should let the man die. I also wonder why he has so many charges against him and he isn't locked up somewhere.

  9. Maybe Narcan should be in public spaces much like AED's. Who are we to judge if one can save a life..just do it for Christmas sake.

  10. Nate question for you… Have you used since you overdosed? If you have used since your od then clearly you've learned your lesson. And i don't know about you but I'm pretty sick of drug addicts running up in everyone's house. Rehab doesn't work unless the person really wants to get clean. Not if they're being forced to go.

  11. If people are talking about addicts harming or stealing from other people I 100% agree they should be held accountable but letting them die? That's just wrong. Anyone who assulys or robs another person should be accountable. Being high or wanted to is no excuse. This and narcan are 2 different issues.

  13. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. A heroin addict is not doing drugs, and worrying about dying! They're only worried about getting high. No amount of getting high, and being saved would ever change an addicts objective. That's why it is a disease. And why is an addicts life any less valuable? Who are we- human being just like everyone, even the addicts!!- to judge and decide who's life gets saved?

  14. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. A heroin addict is not doing drugs, and worrying about dying! They're only worried about getting high. No amount of getting high, and being saved would ever change an addicts objective. That's why it is a disease. And why is an addicts life any less valuable? Who are we- human being just like everyone, even the addicts!!- to judge and decide who's life gets saved?

  15. So no more CPR for the police either? The media doesn't bother to report all the times the police have the ability to revive a 16 year old first time user that goes on to straighten out their life.

  16. Might feel differently if it was your brother, sister, mother, father, niece, nephew. Many people who have overdosed multiple times later get clean, live productive lives and help people. Should police not be trained in CPR either? That could distract them from securing the perimeter also. If you don't know about addiction, ask for information from those who do.

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