MANSFIELD — The Mansfield Police Department will participate in a training seminar Aug. 30 through Sept. 1 to shift protocol when responding to drug overdoses.
The seminar, hosted by the Richland County Prosecutor’s Office, will focus on Ohio’s new ‘Good Samaritan’ law which takes effect Sept. 13. It offers immunity from arrest, prosecution and penalties to people who overdose from heroin or other narcotics and 911 callers.
The new law prohibits prosecutors from filing charges against the drug user if the drug user can prove they have scheduled an appointment with a qualified drug treatment or rehabilitation facility. Offenders have 30 days to schedule an appointment if one was not made before the offense.
Under the new law, dispatchers will be required to inform callers of the immunity from prosecution.
Assistant Chief of Police Keith Porch, who oversees the department’s Public Safety Communications Center, is speculative of the new law and pointed to a loophole that could have negative ramifications.
“It only requires someone to reach out to a rehab facility, it doesn’t say they have to follow through (with the appointments),” Porch said. “If I’m going to be cynical, I’m a user and I don’t want to get help — the only thing I have to do is make an appointment and provide proof. And then there’s no consequences as it regards to the legal system.”
House Bill 110 was signed into law June 13 by Gov. John Kasich, making Ohio one of 38 states and the District of Columbia that provides, in some shape or form, immunity to drug offenders.
The law also grants immunity to 911 callers who are reporting an overdose of a family member or friend. However, the law states immunity can only be used twice by one person and it is not available for people already on parole.
Supporters of the law see this provision as one that will encourage people to call for help. Rep. Denise Driehaus, a Cincinnati Democrat, sponsored the bill and praised its passing in June at a press conference.
“While we try to tackle the overprescribing, the addictive nature of opioids, how it leads to heroin, all the things we are learning about — in the meantime we need to save lives. No one should have to second-guess doing the right thing,” Driehaus said in a published report.
Richland County Prosecutor Bambi Couch Page said the new law is going to mean more busy work for her office.
“We’re going to track those who have overdosed and who are already on parole,” Couch Page said. “It’s absolutely going to mean more work.”
Rep. Mark Romanchuk voted yes on the bill.
“I usually don’t co-sponsor a bill unless it’s very straightforward,” Romanchuk said.
He explained the original intent of the bill was to amend the Good Samaritan law, a law Ohio has been criticized for being slow to adopt.
Romanchuk said if Porch’s and Page’s collective understanding of the bill is correct, he will need to work to fix it.
“But it’s possible they’re interpreting the law wrong. Maybe they’re interpreting it right and we need to go back in and fix it,” he said.
He is currently checking with legal counsel to see if local authorities’ understanding is correct. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office did not respond to an email seeking comment on this story.
