Deaths from fentanyl overdoses have been rising rapidly across the United States, and police in Portland report that this trend is gaining momentum. On Tuesday, the media dispatched a crew to accompany the Portland Police Bureau’s bike team while they conducted daytime patrols of the city. The fentanyl was there in nearly every call he took.
The PPB sometimes reports responding to as many as five overdoses daily and dispensing all their available Narcan. According to the CDC, the number of fatal overdoses caused by fentanyl has increased drastically nationwide. There are, and the cops claim Portland is an outlier.
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On Tuesday, an additional team joined the Portland Police Bureau’s Bike Team on its regular daytime patrols through the city. The fentanyl was there in nearly every call he took.
PPB reported that there are days when they respond to as many as five overdoses and provide every last pill of Narcan.
Officer David Baer is not only a member of the bike squad but also the man in charge of the team’s wildly successful Instagram account. He claims he posts on social media to update followers on his increasingly dramatic everyday activities.
According to him, “fentanyl is my full-time job” right now. It’s the decibel level and the violence in the background. Because of their involvement in the fentanyl trade, people also carry firearms. We’re making drug and gun seizures that would have shocked bike cops four years ago. Perhaps if… When I first started working here, there was nothing to do. I liked that I could work day shifts and have the weekends free and that the major problem we had was individuals drinking beer in public.
PMJT/Ken Sims/Eby bestowed this on us.
Portland police officer David Baer, stated the BC move to eliminate criminal penalties for personal possession.
“You’re going to see an increase in public drug use.
And we see increase in stabbings & death from.https://t.co/xxh5Ay94YA
— Lt. (Retired LAPD) Frank Columbo (@jsam10983741) April 16, 2023
For minor violations of drug use in public, some persons receive citations. They also supply access to treatment and help groups. With 111 reported overdose deaths so far in 2018, Portland is on course to break its previous record set in 2017, police say.
Baer claims the bureau’s Instagram was launched to promote bicycle registration. However, there is a new twist to this adaptation.
Beyer remarked that it provided “a clear first-person look at the grim state of the city as we see it.” There was utter isolation after Covid. They no longer had units to monitor the area; ours was one of the last. This is the current situation in the downtown area. We persisted People were complaining about how horrible downtown is, so we promised to demonstrate our progress.
Baer claims that many drug users who use in public believe fentanyl is legal because of the passage of Measure 110, which made it lawful to possess small amounts of hard drugs in Oregon.
The police believe some of the overdoses resulted from users not realizing the narcotics they used contained fentanyl. He thinks the drug dealers added fentanyl to make the drugs more potent.
PMJT/Ken Sims/Eby bestowed this on us.
Portland police officer David Baer, stated the BC move to eliminate criminal penalties for personal possession.
“You’re going to see an increase in public drug use.
And we see increase in stabbings & death from.https://t.co/xxh5Ay94YA
— Lt. (Retired LAPD) Frank Columbo (@jsam10983741) April 16, 2023
Some individuals have told me, ‘Oh no, it’s an oxy.’ All of the medications we’ve checked for fentanyl have tested positive. We did some crystal meth trying a few weeks ago. It tested positive for fentanyl when we swabbed it,” Baer added.
People who were stopped by a media team for smoking in public were to be detained because they had outstanding warrants. Baer claims he frequently encounters repeat overdose victims.
The same person has been given Narcan multiple times, he added.
Baer remains optimistic about Portland although he witnesses the city at its ugliest daily.
I’m praying that things are looking up for the city. I think things are going to turn out okay,” he replied.
If you have information regarding this incident or any victims please contact Officer David Baer at [email protected]
— PPB Traffic Division (@ppbtraffic) June 10, 2023
To answer the question of how much fentanyl is reaching Portland, the DEA reports that the chemicals used to produce the narcotic originate in China, are processed into finished products in Mexico, and are then transported north along Interstate 5 by criminal organizations.
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If you have information regarding this incident or any victims, please contact Officer David Baer at [email protected].
