RICHMOND, Va. -- Officer Michael Enz is already proving his worth with just three years on the job at Virginia Capitol Police.
Within the last 16 months, Capitol Police officers have successfully administered Narcan to nine individuals who were experiencing an overdose.
Enz is responsible for three of those rescues.
“It's a scary thing to go through. Especially because you don't know what the outcome could be,” Enz told CBS 6 after completing a midnight shift.
The 25-year-old from Gloucester first used naloxone to reverse an overdose on September 21, 2022 at 10th and Main streets.
Enz saved another man on Seventh Street near Marshall Street on September 6, 2023.
Most recently on February 1, Enz was on patrol at Leigh Street and Lombardy Street and noticed a man who was unresponsive on the sidewalk. Enz administered a dose of NARCAN and the man regained consciousness.
“I would say it's something that can be beneficial for everybody to just be educated on because you really don't know the difference you could be making in someone's life, you know?” Enz stated.
The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police (VACP) is managing a First Responder Naloxone grant for the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS).
The project goals are to increase access and distribution of naloxone to all first responders in the Commonwealth of Virginia, increase participation in the REVIVE! for First Responders training program, and to increase the number of REVIVE! FR Trainers and Master Trainers, according to their website.
Stephanie Diaz is programs manager for the VACP.
“We're so glad hearing [Officer Enz] when he was saying that [Narcan] is something he's going to use for the rest of his life even after he retired from law enforcement. It was wonderful to hear that,” Diaz recalled.
AJ Starke serves as the training manger for the First Responder Naloxone Program. He also served in law enforcement in Chesterfield for 30 years before he was sworn in as Hopewell’s police chief.
“Obviously, Naloxone was not something that we thought of back then, you know, we didn't talk about the opioid crisis, because it was not impacting us the way it is today,” Starke stated.
A recent study by Virginia Commonwealth University found that in 2021, the opioid epidemic cost Richmond $408 million – or nearly $1,800 per resident. That’s more than any other locality in Virginia.
The study also found that at least six Virginians died each day in 2021 from opioid-related overdoses. Nationally, the number was about 220 Americans daily.
"I think one of the things that I'd like to point out is how the staff and my organization have embraced the desire to take the training, so they can effectively utilize the resources that are being provided,” Capitol Police Col. John McKee said. “I think the fact that we have access to Narcan, now free to this organization, is tremendous and speaks to those that support the efforts that are underway to counteract this epidemic.”
Diaz called Enz “The Guardian Angel of the Capitol.”
“He is a prime example of the type of law enforcement officer we have here in the Commonwealth,” she said.
Diaz hopes to outfit every Virginia law enforcement professional including EMS and firefighters with the life-saving drug.
Law enforcement officials also encourage the public to arm themselves with Narcan and the training to administer the drug.
Narcan is available for free at any Chesterfield County Public Library service desk.
Richmond and Henrico Health Districtoffers virtual REVIVE each week via Zoom.
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