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Officers responding to a call of an injured man on a sidewalk turned a collapsed 47-year-old heroin user from Garfield over to EMTs while chasing down another man who fled the scene, Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said.
That man, Nathaniel Smith-Trowell, told the officers that he was employed by the injured user -- who, he said, began “freaking and tripping out.”
As Smith-Trowell spoke, a heroin fold fell out of his shirt, Ackermann said. Officers also noticed fresh and old track marks on his forearm and the backs of his hands, he said.
Smith-Trowell, 47, was found carrying dozens of heroin folds, five plastic containers of crack, three hypodermic syringes and a crack pipe, the chief said.
Police released Smith-Trowell pending an Aug. 28 first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack on charges of having heroin, crack and a hypodermic syringe.
The injured man, who apparently had overdosed on heroin, and a third person who summoned police for help weren’t charged.
Under state law, anyone who ODs or calls for help for someone who does is immune from prosecution as a way to encourage victims to seek immediate assistance during these life-threatening emergencies.
NOTE: For those struggling with addiction, as well as their family members, the Bergen County Department of Health Services Office of Alcohol and Drug Dependency (OADD) works to prevent and treat substance use and related disorders. MORE INFO: (201) 634-2740. Services are also available through Care Plus NJ at (201) 986-5000.
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