Heart-stopping moment quick-thinking cop saves man's life - with a nasal spray

PC Becky Davis has been praised after she stepped in to give the man a dose of Naloxone, an emergency antidote to overdoses, after finding him lying in the street

A quick-thinking cop stepped in and saved a man’s life - using nothing more than a nasal spray.

Pc Becky Davis, who works with Northamptonshire Police’s Op Revive team, administered the device to the man after he suffered a suspected opioid overdose. The force has started carrying Naloxone, a medical nasal spray which is made to help bring people around after they have overdosed on drugs, as reported by NeedToKnow.

Dramatic body-word footage shows the desperate moment Pc Davis used the medication, which is an emergency antidote for overdoses. It works by blocking the opioid from the breathing centres of the brain and preventing suffocation. After PC Davis helped the man with the nasal spray, paramedics assisted him further on September 6.

Det Supt Steve Watkins said: “The spray is already being used by ambulance crews and other partners in the county and with police officers now equipped with the spray, we can hopefully prevent more drug-related deaths from synthetic opioids. Within only a few days of this launching in the county, a police officer has provided potentially life-saving aid to a man who had suffered an opiate overdose.”

The Director of Public Health for North Northamptonshire Council, Jane Bethea, said: “Street drugs can cause serious harm and drug-users need to know how to minimise the potential harm. Our first priority is to prevent people from taking street drugs but it’s also important that we provide support for those who become addicted. Street drugs can cause serious harm and drug-users need to know how to minimise the potential harm.”

Ms Bethea urged drug users to not use substances alone and to “carry the rescue medication naloxone and share this guidance with family and friends”. Health minister Karin Smyth said earlier this month the legislation to expand the access of Naloxone would “save lives”, with more services and professionals able to supply it.

But other MPs pushed the Government to go further, with calls for taxi drivers and nightclub staff to be trained in administrating the drug, in addition to it being available at all pharmacies. In the Commons, Ms Smyth said Naloxone is a “highly effective antidote” against opiate overdose and can be administered “quickly and safely by anyone in an emergency”.

As MPs debated the Draft Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Naloxone and Transfers of Functions) Regulations 2024, Ms Smyth said existing regulations limit the reach of the life-saving medicine. She added: “Widening the statutory framework will mean more services and professionals are able to supply this medication. This means easier access to it for people at-risk and for their loved ones and, in short, this legislation will save lives. We’re already seeing the benefits of professionals outside the health service, such as police officers, being able to administer Naloxone. North Yorkshire Police has already saved seven lives since April when Naloxone was rolled out across the force.”