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Officers to carry Narcan
MPD to carry narcan
Lisa Hobbs photo Narcan will be carried by all McMinnville police officers. Pictured is patrolman Paul Springer with Narcan nasal spray.

McMinnville police officers and Warren County sheriff’s deputies will soon start carrying a prescription medication to help fight opioid overdoses.

Naloxone, also known as the brand name Narcan, is used to reverse the effects of an overdose of heroin or narcotic painkillers known as opioids. Paramedics and emergency room doctors have used it for years to save lives.

Police Chief Bryan Denton says once training is complete, 4 mg Narcan nasal spray will be carried by all officers and used to help an overdose victim or protect personnel who may unwittingly come into contact with these dangerous substances.

“We decided to train and utilize Narcan because of reports that rural areas are vulnerable to the fentanyl threat,” said Denton. “Each officer will be equipped and trained for its use as an aid to any OD victim and any exposure our officers and first-responders might have.”

The Sheriff’s Department has already completed training. Its investigators and school resource officers (SROs) are already carrying the nasal spray. As soon pouches are received, all deputies will follow suit. 

Deaths from overdoses of narcotic prescription painkillers more than tripled in the U.S. from 2000 to 2014. These drugs now kill more people than heroin and cocaine combined.

When someone takes an overdose of opioids, the opiates overwhelm certain areas in the brain and interrupt a key part of the body’s impulse to breathe. Breathing can slow dangerously or stop. Quickly rescuing the person is crucial because prolonged, severe breathing problems can lead to brain injury or death.

Naloxone, the active ingredient in Narcan nasal spray, competes with opioids to bind with the same receptors in the brain. Usually, it reverses the effects of opioid overdose in 2 to 3 minutes.

Funds to purchase the medication and training came from the Tennessee Department of Health.

Local law enforcement on the lookout for distracted driving
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April is National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Distracted Driving Awareness Month and McMinnville Police Department (MPD) is on the roads to educate motorists about appropriate hands-free driving.

The amplified focus of cracking down on distracted driving is a nationwide initiative, with many states taking part. MPD Officer Mark Mara indicated the local department is increasing patrols, funded by overtime grants, to enforce and educate about Tennessee’s Hands Free Law.

“We’re trying to get people to change their habits,” Mara said. “There’s a lot of people that are distracted while driving, whether its their cell phones or not. When driving, there are already so many distractions, so having electronics in your hands while you’re driving down the road is dangerous. We need to focus on getting where we need to go and getting there safely.”

According to its records, NHTSA estimates 3,308 lives were lost in crashes involving distracted drivers in 2022 and 8% of all fatal crashes could be attributed to the same. To illustrate the point on a larger scale, it approximates over 32,000 people have died and nearly 290,000 were left injured from crashes attributed to distracted motorists between 2013 and 2022.

Violation of the Tennessee Hands Free Law is a Class C misdemeanor and traffic citations based on the violation are considered moving traffic violations. A first-time offense is typically $50 with third-time offenses and violations resulting in a crash rising to $100; citations received in a work zone while workers or present or in a marked school zone while flashes are in operation carry a penalty of $200. Three points are also added to a motorist’s driving record for each violation with 12 points leading to license suspension.

While the law specifically mentions hands in its name, it is similarly illegal to prop the phone up with any other part of their body.

“We’re going to be stopping vehicles whose operators are distracted by using their cell phones or other electronic devices,” Mara said. “It is against the law for a motorist to be holding their electronic device or having it on their body, so if you’re holding it to your ear or with your shoulder, it’s against the law all the same.”

When using GPS technology, Mara recommends investing in windshield-, vent- or dash-mounted mobile device holder to support the phone while using it for those purposes so your hands can remain on the wheel without compromising your ability to navigate to a destination.

“I understand that your cell phones are a lifeline and we get that — we use them ourselves for GPS. If you have an important phone call that’s coming in and you really need to focus on talking to that person, just pull over to the side of the road and turn on your emergency lights,” Mara said. “When you’re on a phone call, you’re not paying attention to all of the things you need to. You’re going to be concentrating on that conversation and you’re going to find yourself drifting in your lane, going through a stop sign or not stopping properly before a red light.”

Mara additionally recommended drivers sync their phones to their vehicles in models with Bluetooth capabilities and to use phone mounts that do not obstruct vision of the roadways through the windshield.

“The greatest danger of distracted driving is ending up in a crash that was absolutely avoidable, which might hurt yourself or someone else,” Mara said. “You’ve got a lot in front of you when you’re driving and a vehicle is a piece of machinery. We want all motorists to be driving safely on the roads and getting to their destinations without misadventure.”

Warnings and citations will be rendered at officers’ discretion during the increased patrols.