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Officers from the Hartford Police Department reported that between approximately 7 p.m. on Monday, June 3 through 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 4, officers were dispatched to five fatal fentanyl overdoses in specific areas of the city.
The five deaths make it 39 deaths related to drugs this year. There have also been nearly a dozen police rescues using Narcan. Last year, 1,017 people died of drug overdoses in Connecticut.
According to Hartford Police Lt. Paul Cicero, there have several consistencies in the pattern of deaths, including specific geographic locations in the city, specific races and age groups. The victims were all men between the ages of 50 and 65 in the Asylum Hill, Clay Arsenal and Albany neighborhoods.
Police said that the fatal overdoses have come in a variety of ways, with officers finding fentanyl in pill form, powder form, mixed with heroin, cocaine, marijuana, synthetics and crack cocaine.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said that “any fatal overdose is a tragedy, but these overdoses are particularly concerning to us because it appears they are due to fentanyl-laced in drugs other than heroin, and users are therefore less likely to recognize the risk.”
Bronin noted that the city is working with the state to ensure that police and paramedics are supplied with enough Naloxone (Narcan).
“We are working with our local nonprofit partners including AIDS CT and the Greater Hartford Harm Reduction Coalition to distribute fentanyl testing strips,” he said. “But beyond that, we ask everyone to help spread the word that any illegal drug may be contaminated with fentanyl, which is a poison.”
According to the Connecticut Clearing House, fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid analgesic that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent.
“Opioid receptors are also found in the areas of the brain that control breathing rate. High doses of opioids, especially potent opioids such as fentanyl, can cause breathing to stop completely, which can lead to death,” the Connecticut Center for Prevention, Wellness and Recovery noted.
“The high potency of fentanyl greatly increases the risk of overdose, especially if a person who uses drugs is unaware that a powder or pill contains fentanyl. Fentanyl sold on the street can be mixed with heroin or cocaine, which markedly amplifies its potency and potential dangers”
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