Officer overdoses from powder on shirt after drug arrest

EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio – Police say an Ohio officer suffered an accidental overdose after a drug arrest when he touched powder on his shirt without realizing it was the powerful opioid fentanyl.

He was treated with an overdose reversal drug after brushing off the powder with his hand and passing out Friday in East Liverpool, roughly 85 miles (137 kilometres) southeast of Cleveland near the Pennsylvania line.

Fentanyl can be absorbed through the skin, and a few specks can kill an adult.

East Liverpool police Capt. Patrick Wright says the officer had followed protocol and wore gloves and a mask when searching a car during the drug arrest. But Wright says the officer later instinctively wiped his shirt when another officer noticed powder on it.

Wright says the officer was fine by Sunday.