INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — In about just the last six weeks, two Indian River County deputies have been exposed to fentanyl, needing medical attention.
Their exposures happened just as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement warned fentanyl has become the deadliest drug in the state.
Deputies Bryce Connolly and Joseph Caouette went to the hospital for observation, and both said they didn’t experience any serious symptoms.
Their exposures happened while on regular road patrol shifts during relatively routine traffic stops, they said.
They’re finding fentanyl overdoses are common, as well as finding people in possession of the deadly drug.
“It’s all over the place. You’re dealing with it on an almost nightly basis,” Connolly. said
The two deputies work the same shift, assigned to the same zone.
On Nov. 2, Connolly backed up Caouette, who was only recently hired in October, on a traffic stop.
“I pulled up on one of his traffic stops to teach him how to field test the drugs,” Connolly said.
Body camera footage shows Connolly conducting a field drug test on a suspicious substance, which he said turned out to be fentanyl.
The tests consist of a glass tube in a plastic encasing. Connolly said pieces of the glass punctured through the plastic encasing, pricking him.
“I was calmer than I probably should have been,” Connolly said.
Knowing that glass had been exposed to fentanyl, he was taken to the hospital for about five hours of observation.
“I got lightheaded, but it could have been just me freaking myself out,” Connolly said.
A few weeks later, Caouette pulled someone over for running a red light. He said the traffic stop was routine and he was about to let the driver leave, but he said something felt off.
He asked to search the vehicle and found a suspicious bag.
“Found a plastic bag that looked like off-white paint in a sandwich bag,” Caouette said.
That turned out to be fentanyl in a liquid form. He got residue on his hand.
“I was freaking out. Not going to lie, I was freaking out,” Caouette said.
He was also taken to the hospital for a couple of hours of observation.
“I felt lightheaded, and my heart rate went through the roof but I'm assuming that’s because I was freaking out at the time,” Caouette said.
Now, the Narcan they’ve long carried to help people who have overdosed is also considered their own potential backup in an accidental exposure.
“It’s almost like a safety net for us should we get exposed to it,” Connolly said.
“At the end of the day we both realize how lucky we are,” Connolly said.
Now, they patrol knowing no traffic stop is routine, and feel more motivated to pursue drug crimes.
“Try to back each other up as much as possible," Connolly said.
