EAST LIVERPOOL, OHIO — Ohio police are making an example out of two irresponsible adults in a bid to show the world the dangers of drug addiction.
Photos of a couple passed out from an apparent drug overdose were posted on the City of East Liverpool’s Facebook page on Friday, along with a police report detailing the incident.
According to the police report, off-duty officer Kevin Thompson began following a Ford Explorer around 3 p.m. on Wednesday after he noticed it driving erratically. He later witnessed the SUV nearly hit a stopped school bus that was dropping kids off.
The cop approached the vehicle and saw the driver speaking unintelligibly with his head bobbing back and forth. A woman was passed out next to him, and a young boy was in the back seat.
The driver, James Acord, claimed he was bringing the woman, Rhonda Pasek, to the hospital. The boy in the back was Pasek’s 4-year-old son. When Acord attempted to drive away, Officer Thompson grabbed the keys from the ignition to stop him.
An ambulance was called after Acord lost consciousness. Both adults showed signs of a drug overdose, prompting emergency medical services to administer several rounds of Narcan, a drug used to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses. Both were revived and transported to the hospital.
It is not known what drug the two had taken. The police report mentions that a pink powdery substance was found in the front seat and subsequently sent to the lab for analysis.
Ohio is battling a heroin and opioid epidemic. A record 3,050 people in the state died of drug overdoses last year, according to the Washington Post.
Brian Allen, East Liverpool’s director of public service and safety, told the Washington Post that the city deals with heroin-related cases on a daily basis.
Acord and Pasek are facing multiple charges and are currently in police custody, while the boy has been turned over to relatives.
