Police: 10-year-old used Narcan on woman who had overdosed
Portsmouth woman subsequently charged with child endangerment
PORTSMOUTH — A 10-year-old child utilized life-saving Narcan on a 44-year-old Portsmouth woman who had overdosed last week, according to police.
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Police: 10-year-old used Narcan on woman who had overdosed
Portsmouth woman subsequently charged with child endangerment
PORTSMOUTH — A 10-year-old child utilized life-saving Narcan on a 44-year-old Portsmouth woman who had overdosed last week, according to police.
The woman, Lauren Nortz of 639 Park Ave., was subsequently charged with child endangerment following the incident at her home Friday night, June 6, police said.
According to police, at about 7:32 p.m. that day, the 10-year-old made a 911 call to report a medical emergency at the home.
“Upon arrival, officers observed signs of a drug overdose, as well as narcotics inside the residence,” Deputy Chief Michael Morse stated in a press release Tuesday. “The substances were discovered unsecured, creating a dangerous environment accessible to the child.”
Additionally, several containers of discarded Narcan — also known as naloxone, a medication that can rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose — were located in the home, police said.
“The investigation revealed that the 10-year-old child had utilized Narcan on the woman,” Morse stated. “It was later learned that the child had learned how to utilize this life-saving medication after receiving previous guidance from a family member we well as reading the instructions on the packaging.”
The police department’s Detective Division investigated the incident and during an interview, Nortz admitted to drug use and confirmed that narcotics and related paraphernalia were present in the home and accessible to the child, police said. The R.I. Department of Children, Youth, and Families was contacted and is involved in keeping the child safe, according to police.
Nortz was charged with child endangerment. She was arraigned at police headquarters by a justice of the peace and released on $2,000 surety bail. As a condition of her release, she’s prohibited from having contact with the child, police said.
Her formal arraignment is set for Thursday, June 12, at 2nd Division District Court in Newport.
