From a routine traffic stop to medical emergency in someone’s home, law enforcement officers are confronted with deadly drugs routinely.

“The drugs are more prominent on the street,” Mt. Pleasant Chief of Police, Carl Ritchie, explained.  “It can kill an officer by just touching it.”

That’s why Chief Ritchie says the Town of Mt. Pleasant approved police to carry nasal spray Narcan this week.

“It’s important for the officer to have it on their person so they can administer it immediately,” Chief Ritchie said.

The town is following a movement happening across the country.  In Franklin County Mississippi officers were trained to use it last month. Horry County introduced the spray to police this summer.   Hartsville police officers were trained in August.

According to DHEC, more than 3,000 law enforcement officers are trained to administer Narcan.  So far the agency reports 87 lives save by officers across the state.

Paramedics and fire fighters in Mt. Pleasant already carry the nasal spray.

“We know the paramedics are coming, but we will be able to save lives as well,” Chief Ritchie said.

Training to administer Narcan will be done by DHEC in the coming weeks.