San Francisco police officer saves life with new overdose drug

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco police have a lifesaving drug they can use to help bring people back from the brink of death due to a drug overdose. ABC7 News takes a closer look at the antidote that is saving lives on the streets.

"When I arrived, I actually found this man down on the ground. He was actually in the middle of the street, totally unresponsive," San Francisco police Officer Mike Mellone said.

Mellone recalls the day last June when he saw a suspected drug user who had overdosed in the Mission District. Mellone had been trained to use naloxone -- a virtual antidote to heroin and other opiates.

Mellone demonstrated on a mannequin how to administer the drug. He showed how to squirt the solution into the nose. That is how he says he save a man who was near death.

"Within a few minutes, the person who was previously unconscious, was having trouble breathing. I started to see signs that he was coming to and by that time the ambulance crew had arrived," Mellone said.

So far, about 750 San Francisco police officers have been trained to use naloxone, which is part of a pilot program to save lives. In the Mission, the drug is legendary. A mural off Valencia pays tribute with a superhero. Health department officials say while heroin use is up overdoses are not.

Dr. Judy Martin, M.D., from the San Francisco Department of Public Health, says, "Overdoses are preventable and they're also reversible. And the best place to do it is right when they're happening."

Martin says there were 75 drug overdose reversals in July thanks to naloxone.

HealthRight 360 free clinic prescribes the drug to those who may need it for emergencies. It blocks opiates reviving the victim.

"We give instruction to patients on how to use it, in case they have a friend or someone that they find in this situation where they need to administer the drug," Ako Jacintho, M.D., from Health Right 360, said.

Mellone hopes every officer will be trained to use it. He said, "Every police officer that enters this job wants to save a life and with something as simple as this, we're now able to do that."

There will be 1,500 more San Francisco police officers who will receive training this year.