Two Fall River men overdose at Hampton Inn

According to Detective Jeff Majewski, Westport responded to another overdose at the Hampton Inn Thursday. This one involving two Fall River men.

On May 17 at approximately 3:19 p.m., the Westport Fire Department, paramedics, and police responded to room 304 of the Hampton Inn located at 53 Old Bedford Road after a 911 caller reported her boyfriend was overdosing. One ambulance responded with two police officers who found an unconscious male. Another male in the room was performing CPR on the unconscious victim.

Upon first responder’s arrival a second male was found to be overdosing as well. The Fire Department sent a second, and last available, ambulance. Paramedics utilized Narcan which revived both men. Both men, from Fall River, were 27 and 28 years of age.

Both victims were transported to a local hospital. One of the men was reluctant to go to the hospital, but a recently passed law allows first responders to place any individual in protective custody if found unconscious and narcan was used. The idea of that law was to inhibit a recurrence of the overdose after the narcan wore off. There was also a female in the room with the male who had performed CPR.

Officers found dozens of empty bags of heroin, suboxone and an assortment of hypodermic needles. Officers also located Gabapentin on one of the individuals. Massachusetts has a Good Samaritan Law where possession quantities (not distribution amounts) are not able to be charged against anyone in the room with possession of any of those drugs. That law was passed to encourage people to call 911 instead of fleeing the scene to avoid facing criminal charges. MA Legislators also recently eliminated a law where it was a crime to be knowingly present where Heroin was kept.

One of the males present told police there may have been Fentanyl mixed with the heroin. Fentanyl has been seen in Westport mixed with cocaine and heroin. A Cape Police Department last year found Fentanyl mixed with Marijuana.

Westport Police contacted the Board of Health as a precaution since hotels and motels have a revolving clientele. Exposure to even a few granules of Fentanyl can be fatal to an adult male. Fentanyl can be ingested through inhalation, through the skin or other porous areas of the body. Even first responders Nationwide have gone into cardiac arrest from responding to these calls. Hotel management was notified of the dangers and a Board of Health Agent later learned the hotel had cleaned the room on their own as opposed to a recommended professional cleaning company that deals with hazardous cleanups.

According to Majewski, Police and Fire have responded to the Hampton Inn for Overdose calls at least 9 times in the past 11 months. On one occasion, mutual aid from Fall River was necessary since Westport ambulances were already on other calls. Drugs in hotels present a significant danger to other patrons especially young children who may play on the floor where granules become airborne and virtually undetected by the human eye. Hotels and motels who serve the public have a responsibility to have areas professionally cleaned with proper equipment that ensure eradication of any drug residue left behind at overdose calls.