Record Number of Heroin Overdoses in Fla. Create Need for More Police, Paramedics

Aug. 17--The heroin "epidemic" plaguing Delray Beach is prompting a push to hire more officers and paramedics, city police and fire rescue officials said.

During a discussion Tuesday evening of Delray Beach's proposed budget for the 2017 fiscal year, the police department requested four more sworn officers, which would bring the total to 160. Fire Rescue requested eight new firefighters/paramedics each year over the course of three years.

City commissioners said investing in public safety was a top priority, mainly because of the rise in the volume of drug overdose calls.

"It's a nationwide crisis, but seems to be ground zero here in Delray," said Deputy Vice-Mayor Jordana Jarjura.

The city experienced a record 66 heroin overdoses in July, seven of which were fatal, exceeding the previous high of 64 in March, according to police. Since Aug. 1, the department has responded to 23 overdoses, one of which was fatal.

In neighboring Boynton Beach, at least 150 people have overdosed in the city and nine have died.

There were 56,000 calls to 911 last year in Delray, up from 48,000 in 2011. There has been a nearly 15 percent increase in emergency medical calls since 2000, mainly because of drug overdoses, according to the fire department.

"It's an epidemic ... We're cutting other programs" to purchase Narcan, a drug also known as naloxone used to revive overdose victims, said Fire Chief Neil De Jesus.

A recent grant secured by the Delray Beach Drug Task Force enabled the city to acquire 200 kits containing naloxone, which can snap an unresponsive overdose victim back to life within seconds.

On a typical call, the Fire Department currently sends two vehicles, a rescue engine and ambulance, because staffing allows only two personnel on an engine and three on an ambulance.

With the overwhelming volume of medical calls because of drug overdoses, the department is stretched too thin to send several vehicles to one call. More firefighters/paramedics means one fully staffed rescue vehicle can respond to a medical call, De Jesus told the commission.

"Just by adding one person (to each ambulance), we double our coverage," he said.

The stations on Atlantic Avenue at Federal Highway, and Linton Boulevard at Germantown Road would be first to hire additional personnel under the proposed budget, which should be adopted by September.

Two of the four suggested police hires would join the police department's Clean and Safe Unit, which patrols the city's downtown, east of Interstate 95 to the ocean.

About 37 percent of all 911 calls last year came from this area, which makes up just 19 percent of the city, Police Chief Jeffrey Goldman said.

The city's Community Redevelopment Agency oversees this area and gets a share of property taxes collected within this district. The commission suggested urging the CRA to fund some of the personnel needed in the area.

"We have to put everything we have into fighting this problem, and I know we're not the only city in the country with it, but we are absolutely the epicenter of it," said Commissioner Mitch Katz. "We have to invest in that and our CRA board members have to understand that."

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