A woman about 87 years old collapsed during Remembrance Day ceremony. According to the SIU or the Special Investigation Unit, a police officer provided first aid and administered naloxone to an elderly woman.
The incident happened in Clayton, Ontario, 65 kilometers southwest of Ottawa. The elderly woman attended the Remembrance Day ceremony and suddenly went into medical distress.
Prompt delivery of care
A police officer immediately helped provide first aid and administered naloxone, after learning that the woman was on medication. Naloxone is a possible life-saving antidote that is used in reversing the effects of drug overdose such as opioid. The paramedics brought the woman to the hospital but she was later declared dead due to cardiac arrest.
According to the SIU director, Tony Loparco, he stated in the news that there is no reason to investigate the officer who provided first aid and administered naloxone to the elderly woman. The evidence is clear that the death of the woman was due to her medical condition and the administration of naloxone has nothing to do with her death.
The SIU is an agency that is responsible in investigating incidents that involve police that resulted in a death and serious injury of the victim.
After the incident, the minister of community safety and correctional services, Sylvia Jones, said that the Special Investigation Unit or SIU should not be automatically involved in incidents where the victim died after naloxone was provided by police officers.
The ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario made an amendment to the omnibus policing legislation that was passed at the Queen’s Park. The changes states that the director of SIU should be notified in all cases of serious injury or death. But in certain circumstances, the SIU will not investigate an incident in which a police officer provided immediate medical help to the affected victim.
According to a lawyer and the former director of the SIU, said that the changes will allow the government to pass regulations that will remove the jurisdiction of SIU in cases where the police decide that they will provide immediate medical care and result to death or serious injuries of the affected person.
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Learn how to help by enrolling in a first aid class and for more information, check out these sources:
https://www.healthline.com/health/first-aid/cpr