Daniel Cherpin sought a solution to help his fellow police officers save the lives of those who come close to drug overdose. Cherpin’s efforts are paying off as 14 people in Redlands are alive today thanks to the officers of the Redlands Police Department.
Officer Daniel Cherpin started his public safety career as a paramedic for American Medical Response Ambulance Service in 2012. As he continued his education, he was drawn to serving the community as a police officer. Today, he is assigned to the Redlands Police Department’s Multiple Enforcement Team where he also serves as a member of the department’s SWAT team.
With degrees in fire science, law enforcement, and emergency medicine, Officer Cherpin is passionate about saving lives and serving as a protector to his community.
With the rise of deaths and overdoses involving the drug heroin, Officer Cherpin and his colleagues were responding to an increased number of emergency calls where a user would be on the brink of death. Since the officers were usually the first emergency personnel on the scene of a call involving an overdose, or life-threatening emergency, they were helpless in rendering any type of aid to people who were near death.
Officer Cherpin was aware of other police departments across the country equipping their officers with a medication called Narcan. Many police officers are familiar with Narcan as they frequently watch paramedics administer the product to overdose patients.
HELP FROM A REDLANDS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL DOCTOR
Doctor Phong Nguyen has served as an emergency room physician at Redlands Community Hospital for 26 years. Dr. Nguyen is also the medical director for the Redlands Fire Department. Unfortunately, Dr. Nguyen often sees overdose patients brought into the emergency room by paramedics. Eventually, Dr. Nguyen decided something had to be done about this issue so these patients could be treated sooner.
With the support and approval of the police department’s leadership, Officer Cherpin worked with Dr. Nguyen in developing a training program Redlands police officers needed in order to carry and administer Narcan to overdose patients.
14 (AND COUNTING) LIVES SAVED
As of early November, the police officers from the Redlands Police Department saved the lives of 14 people through the administration of Narcan. That means 14 families still have their loved ones thanks to one officer who found a way to do more to protect his community than just simply making arrests or writing reports.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is an “epidemic of opioid addiction in the U.S.” In 2020, the Brookings Institute concluded that there was more opioid use in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world.
Narcan.com
On behalf of District Attorney Jason Anderson, and the men and women of the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, thank you Officer Daniel Cherpin for being The Shield’s featured law enforcement officer for November 2020.
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