A Victoria police officer was stabbed with a needle by a bystander while responding to an overdose on Saturday night, the department says in a news release.
The incident took place at around 8:30 p.m., when officers on patrol in the 900-block of Pandora Avenue were alerted by people in the area that a person was experiencing an overdose nearby.
The officers found the unconscious person, who did not have a pulse and was not breathing, in the 900-block of Mason Street and immediately administered the nasal Naloxone they were carrying.
As officers started to provide CPR and chest compressions on the unconscious person, a group gathering nearby tried to intervene and stop them, police said.
Officers in the 900-block of Pandora Saturday were told a person was overdosing nearby. Officers were giving Naloxone & CPR when a crowd surrounded & tried to stop them. When more officers responded, one of them was stabbed with a needle. #yyj https://t.co/pgmiya480S pic.twitter.com/CRNGDVBFRF
— Victoria Police (@vicpdcanada) March 14, 2023
That prompted more police to be called to the scene, and while at first officials were able to push the mob back, one officer was stabbed under the arm with a needle by one of the men in the group.
Police disarmed him and took him into custody, while the officer was taken to hospital and treated for a non-life threatening wound.
The overdose victim eventually regained their pulse, resumed breathing and later regained consciousness, police said.
“The officers offered further medical assistance, but the individual declined and did not require any further medical attention,” police said in the news release.
The man accused of stabbing the officer with a needle faces recommended charges of obstruction and assault of a police officer with a weapon.
Police said he was being held in custody pending his first court appearance.
Jeff Lawrence
