BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Buffalo police officer who had to be given multiple doses of a life-saving drug after allegedly overdosing on heroin last week, should have been drug tested twice since he joined the force nearly two years ago.
News 4 has independently confirmed 26-year-old Michael Moffett, who was off-duty at the time, was given doses of Narcan by an on-duty officer.
Now, he’s off the streets and recovering after his life had to be saved when he allegedly overdosed on heroin.
The incident happened at a home in the 500 block of Dorrance Avenue on the city’s south side. Moffett was revived with the opiate reversal drug, Narcan, and taken to a hospital, police sources say.
Patrol officers like Moffett are supposed to be drug tested randomly once every year, according to BPA president Kevin Kennedy, who said Wednesday afternoon he wasn’t aware of an internal affairs investigation.
However, the city’s drug testing program hasn’t existed for more than two years. Kennedy said the contract of the department’s testing review officer wasn’t renewed after it was allowed to expire
Mayor Byron Brown said Wednesday that could change next week.
“We have an RFP (request for proposal) that is in the field,” Brown said. “The language in the RFP has been agreed to by police management and the BPA, and that RFP is in the field and we expect to have a doctor retained to do that kind of work.”
Kennedy said the deadline for the agreement is March 11.
Brown declined to provide specifics about Moffett’s case — other than to say it’s a personnel issue he can’t legally discuss. He also confirmed an ongoing internal affairs investigation, the details of which he declined to provide.
“While I cannot talk about a specific, I will again say generically that substance abuse is an issue that many Americans all across the country are dealing with, unfortunately,” he said. “And I think that if people need to be encouraged if they have issue to get the help they need.”
Heroin overdoses are running rampant in Erie County. More than 128 people died from heroin overdoses in 2014. The number doubled in 2015, and is expected to double again in 2016. Twenty-three people died in just one week’s time this year.
Erie County launched a task force that will examine how to tackle the problem. The task force joins law enforcement, government and health agencies and social services to come up with a plan that curtail the county’s opiate epidemic. The group will come together on a quarterly basis.
