By Caitlin V. Reidy
“I was just doing my job.” These are the words from Officer Benjamin Dame of the Sterling Police Department, who implemented life-saving actions to an overdose victim on the morning of April 13, 2022.
Officer Dame has been a member of the Sterling Police Department for about six months. Stating that he was sworn into his position on October 18, 2021, he is still considered a rookie on the force. However, his newness to the police department held no bearing on his ability to think quickly, act fast, and save the life of an individual who may have not survived otherwise.
Officer Dame stated that when he arrived on the scene on April 13th, he determined that the victim was suffering from an overdose. He said that the injured party was on his bed, was not breathing, and had no pulse. With the help of the victim’s roommate, Officer Dame said that he positioned the individual on the floor and administered nasal NARCAN, a medication that is used to rapidly reverse the effects of a suspected opioid overdose.
According to the Sterling Police, Officer Dame also conducted CPR on the patient. Moments before Sterling EMS arrived on scene, the victim began to breathe and had an identifiable pulse.
Not only did Officer Dame save the life of the individual on scene, but he received a Letter of Commendation from Gary Chamberland, the Chief of Police in Sterling.
“The opioid epidemic is becoming more and more common,” Chief Chamberland stated. “Officer Dame found the subject unresponsive and administered NARCAN and CPR. He saved this individual’s life.” Chief Chamberland also stated that Officer Dame’s commendation is an internal award system that the Sterling Police does to recognize its outstanding officers.
“I didn’t expect to receive the commendation,” Officer Dame stated. “I just resorted back to my training from the [Police] Academy.” Officer Dame also conveyed that it “means a lot” that Chief Chamberland recognized his actions, however, he said “all of the credit” goes to his instructors at the Boylston Police Academy, the program in which he trained for his career in law enforcement.
“Being a small department, we do not get the call volume larger departments may get. Once our officers graduate from the police academy, they are put through a field training program where they ride with more veteran officers and as they progress, they are shadowed by veteran officers. Once the program is completed, the officers are out on their own. It’s confirmation that Officer Dame will respond appropriately in stressful and life-threatening situations,” Chief Chamberland stated.
And so he has responded appropriately. According to Officer Dame, though he has responded to calls for overdoses before, this was the first one where the victim was not breathing. This is an alarming incident for anyone, nonetheless a new police officer. Unfortunately, Chief Chamberland and Officer Dame conveyed that overdoses are becoming more prevalent, not specifically in Sterling, but across the globe in general.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 100,000 deaths in the United States can be attributed to drug overdoses from just 2021, with that number expected to grow. This number is rising due to drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, being laced with fentanyl. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) stated that fentanyl is a “synthetic” drug that is supposed to be used for pain management, and can be upwards of “80-100% more potent than morphine.” Officer Dame said that people use the substance to “cut” into drugs to make them “cheaper.”
With the increase of medical emergencies and overdoses relating to opioids in the nation, we are fortunate to have first responders such as Officer Dame and the dedicated professionals of the Sterling Police Department, who train diligently to continuously protect their community and prevent drug-related fatalities from becoming the new norm.