Table 3 THN program participant and law enforcement official perspectives on the themes of warrants, kit confiscation, and arrests

Exercising arrest warrants

“Right away he bolted because he thought 911 had been called and he might have had a warrant and that’s their biggest fear right, they don’t want the police involved. Ambulance, they’re not, they’re not so, it doesn’t matter so much about the ambulance, like they’ll go to the hospital if the ambulance is there. If it’s not there don’t bother, I’m alive now.”

- Client interviewee 1

“Typically if we go to an overdose call, it, the fact that somebody’s overdosed doesn’t give us a right in order we just search everybody in the vicinity. I mean really our primary responsibility of this call is to preserve the life of somebody that’s overdosed (right). I, my experience is that the people that are around aren’t necessarily in any peril. I mean we do have to know the last names, etcetera and really unless somebody there happens to have a warrant for their arrest, well I don’t in my experience know that other people that are at the scene are being searched or arrested or detained, or you know unless there’s some reasonable ground that you know that it was you know forcefully administered or you know or anything else they had. I mean that is such a rarity.”

- Law enforcement interviewee 2

Arrest for illegal activity (possession, breach of probation, etc.)

“Yeah, police because then like what were you doing when you were coming, what are you doing in this area or were you buying drugs too, so then what if I get in trouble and they start questioning me and them I’m involved for giving her the naloxone, the person the naloxone, and I’m like shit, I was just walking by trying to save a life.”

- Client interviewee 2

“But generally, if it’s a medical call, like if, like that’ll, I believe that’ll get fire and ambulance, ambulance for sure, but usually fire tags along for anything. But they’ll go and then I guess if there’s a dangerous circumstance, they’ll call police to assist. What you hear often over police radio is ambulance is attending for an overdose, police [aren’t?] required, just so you’re aware, and then a Sergeant will go, okay, and then that’ll be that, no one’ll go because it’s, it’s kind of fallen now into the realm that even though the drug that was used was illegal, it’s a medical call because where they’re at now is medical…”

- Law enforcement interviewee 1

Responder concerns and kit confiscation

“… the first responders showed up and there was, I believe it was an ambulance or a fire, but the guy started yelling at me ‘cause I had the needle in my hand, so I just yelled back at him, for like you know I’m totally, it’s legal for me to have this, why are you mad? Because you can’t carry it? You know so that was probably maybe twice in a situation like that where I‘ve had first responders you know say shit like that to me. Otherwise, nobody’s said anything.”

- Client interviewee 4

“I would probably say that if that’s [kit confiscation] happened, it would probably be inexperience of an officer. I mean the Naloxone kits are given by prescription so they can have them, I mean they have no, people can’t get high off them. … I mean we have no business taking those things, that’s those are all measures to preserve their life and health.”

- Law enforcement interviewee 2