A San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputy overdosed when exposed to fentanyl while making arrest

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has released body camera footage of a deputy who accidentally overdosed when exposed to fentanyl.

In July, Deputy David Faiivae was a trainee at the scene of an arrest when he collapsed after testing a white powder suspected to be either cocaine or fentanyl, said the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

The deadly drug fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic opioid drug, 100 times more powerful than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic.

A quick-witted partner of his administered Narcan, a nasal spray that reverses the effects of opioids, saving Faiivae’s life.

“Your Crisis Coach,” Scott Silverman, joined KUSI’s Elizabeth Alvarez on Good Morning San Diego to discuss this incident.