Terrifying moment Florida deputy exposed to fentanyl collapses in bodycam footage before he is saved by Narcan
- Identified as Flagler County Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Huzior, the lawman is now in recovery – thanks in part to his fellow officer Kyle Gaddie’s quick-thinking
- The incident happened around 3:45pm Thursday, after Huzior pulled over 61-year-old George Clemons for fleeing a hit-and-run scene in nearby Bunnell
- Currently in custody on both DUI and drug charges, Clemons eventually pulled over – at which point cops came across him with an array of drugs and alcohol
A Florida cop’s body camera captured the moment he rescued another deputy from fentanyl exposure – during a routine traffic stop that saw the officer collapse after administering an on-site substance test.
Identified as Flagler County Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Huzior, the lawman is now in recovery – thanks in part to his fellow officer’s quick-thinking.
The incident happened around 3:45pm Thursday, after Huzior pulled over 61-year-old George Clemons for fleeing a hit-and-run scene in nearby Bunnell and taking off on State Road 11, causing several near-crashes in the process.
Now out on bail despite facing an array of DUI and drug charges, Clemons eventually pulled over – at which point cops came across him still sitting in the red SUV, in the driver’s seat, with its keys out of the ignition and beneath his legs.
Huzior and other deputies immediately spotted a slew of narcotics, as well as an empty Bud Light can and a mini bottle of alcohol in plain view, cops said.
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A Florida cop’s body camera captured the moment he rescued another deputy from fentanyl exposure – during a routine traffic stop that saw the officer collapse after an on-site text
Identified as Flagler County Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Huzior, the lawman is now in recovery – thanks in part to his fellow officer’s quick-thinking
The incident happened around 3:45pm Thursday, after Huzior pulled over 61-year-old George Clemons for fleeing a hit-and-run scene in nearby Bunnell. Now facing a litany of DUI and drug charges, Clemons is currently out on $25,500 bail, records show
The footage released by the Sheriff’s Office Friday begins shortly after Clemons refused Huzior’s request for a sobriety test, spurring him to test one of the drugs – a powdery white substance – then and there.
Almost instantly, the officer – who was wearing personal protective equipment but still found himself overcome by the overdose causing drug – is seen succumbing to the synthetic opioid, which is more than 100 times more potent than morphine.
‘I feel lightheaded,’ he is heard telling Deputy First Class Kyle Gaddie in the first-person footage, which shows an array of pills, marijuana, and unspecified powders spread out on an at this point already arrested Clemons’ hood.
‘Call EMS,’ the officer adds, audibly out of breath.
Telling Gaddie he feels lightheaded, shaky, and is loosing feeling in his arms and legs, the deputy is seen losing his balance – spurring his senior officer to get out of his car, where he had been parked previously for a traffic stop.
Knowing that the narcotics Huzior had been testing could contain fentanyl – a deadly synthetic drug now used by sellers to make other drugs more powerful – Gaddie dishes out a dose of Narcan, a drug used to reverse the effects of a fentanyl overdose.
Despite the precaution, Huzior’s condition persists for several minutes – spurring Gaddie to give his comrade a second dose.
As this is happening, Gaddie is seen steadfastly crouching by Huzior’s side, while whispering words of encouragement.
At one point, he asks Huzior how he feels – to which the deputy replies that he feels ‘dizzy.’
‘I feel really dizzy,’ he says, before eventually being carted to a nearby hospital. ‘My heart is beating really fast.’
The footage begins after Clemons eventually pulled over at a traffic stop on State Road 11 – at which point cops came across him sitting in his the red SUV. Inside, cops found a bevy of drugs, pills, alcohol, and other substances. Clemons was cuffed for refusing a sobriety test
Knowing that the narcotics Huzior had been testing could contain fentanyl – a deadly synthetic drug now used by sellers to lace other drugs – Deputy First Class Kyle Gaddie (seen here) dished out a dose of Narcan, a drug used to reverse the effects of fentanyl overdose
As his fellow officer continues to suffer from the effects of fentanyl exposure, Gaddie is seen steadfastly crouching by Huzior’s side, whispering words of encouragement
At one point, he asks Huzior how he feels – to which the deputy replies that he feels ‘dizzy’
‘I feel really dizzy,’ he says in the clip released by his superiors Friday, before eventually being carted to a nearby hospital, where he was still recovering Saturday. ‘My heart is beating really fast’
Gaddie continued to offer his stricken companion reassuring words, as a Good Samaritan and eventually several fire officials arrived on the scene
Gaddie continues to offer his stricken companion reassuring words, as a Good Samaritan and eventually Flagler County Fire officials arrive on the scene.
‘My left hand is going numb,’ Huzior says at one point, leading Gaddie to administer a second dose.
Huzior at this point tells his superior that he his now feeling numbness in his face – to which Gaddie replies: ‘That’s probably the Narcan hitting you.’
Within minutes, first responders were seen descending on the scene, with an ambulance arriving and Huzior loaded into the emergency vehicle via a stretcher.
In a statement Saturday, Sheriff Rick Staly revealed the officer was still recovering from the scare, and confirmed the substance he ingested had, in fact, been fentanyl.
Clemons, meanwhile, was arrested on charges of DUI, possession of fentanyl, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana under 20 grams, possession of a legend drug without a prescription, possession of Suboxone – a prescription used to wean off opiates – and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The Bunnell Police Department also charged Clemons with leaving the scene of a crash with damage to vehicle or property in relation to a hit-and-run, which is a felony.
Within minutes, first responders were seen descending on the scene, with an ambulance arriving and Huzior loaded into the emergency vehicle via a stretcher
In a statement Saturday, officers revealed Huzior was still recovering from the scare, and confirmed the substance he ingested had, in fact, been fentanyl
Sheriff Rick Staly is seen with Huzior’s savior Gaddie, whom he praised Saturday for his heroics
Records show the 61-year-old posted his $25,500 bail Friday, spending about a day in lockup in total.
Following his release pending an unspecified court date, Sheriff Rick Staly issued a statement hailing First Class Deputy Gaddie’s heroics.
‘What happened yesterday is a perfect example of the dangers law enforcement face each and every day from poison on the streets,’ the sheriff said in a Friday press release that stated Gaddie likely saved his fellow officer’s life.
‘Thankfully, our deputies are well-trained and equipped with Narcan, which allowed DFC Gaddie to potentially save the life of a fellow deputy.’
Fentanyl – approximately 100 times more potent than morphine – is responsible for about 100,000 deaths each year in the US, not including deaths overseas.
Over the past eight years, the opioid has been funneled into the country in increasing amounts at the southern border – with some 8,400 kilograms of the overdose-inducing drug seized in 2022.
During the time, a believed 325,000 people died in the US have died from overdoses involving synthetic opioids like the ones sold by the raided Mexican stores, which experts say are almost always made of fentanyl.
Aside from being far more powerful than others on the black market, the drug is mass produced by Mexican cartels, who make it from precursor chemical smuggled in from China, and then press it into pills designed to look like other medications.
The practice is illegal, and has been on the radar of federal authorities for the better part of a year.
Still, such practices manage to persist and are still very much on the rise.
Just last week, several pharmacies that had been operating in Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum were shuttered after a four-day inspection raid by feds on 55 stores, during which nearly half were found to have irregular sales.
Fentanyl – approximately 100 times more potent than morphine – is responsible for about 100,000 deaths each year in the US, not including deaths overseas
The over the border bust came months after the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning about illegal sales of pills like Oxycodone, Percocet and Adderall in the country, being passed off as prescriptions but often made of unsanctioned substances such as fentanyl.
Days earlier, a research report from the University of California in Los Angeles found drug stores across the most renowned destinations in the world were offering foreigners pills billed as the prescriptions – without any of the proper documentation from doctors.
The Mexico Navy announced the bust Tuesday, revealing the stores that were shut down not only offered the pills exclusively to tourists, but that the stores systematically advertised such pills and even offered home delivery services.
The Mexican Navy did not confirm that any fentanyl-laced pills had been found in the recent raid, but said medications had been seized to test whether they contained fentanyl.
Those results have yet to be released.
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