We have recently been notified by a local media outlet that local law enforcement agencies and the Polk County School board will be requested to provide closed internal affairs cases each week. To ensure a fair understanding of the process for all of our Internal Affairs Cases, now called Administrative Investigations, below is a short brief on how our cases are processed. ...
Lakeland Police Department
LakelandPD is Equipped With Naloxone
Recently questions have come about regarding the use of Naloxone by the Lakeland Police Department (LakelandPD). Do we have it available for use? Do officers and team members have access to it? Do we have an adequate supply on hand?
Simply put, Yes.
Naloxone, also commonly referred to as Narcan, is an opiate antidote used to block the effects of opioids, especially in an overdose situation. Opioids include heroin and prescription pain pills like morphine, codeine, oxycodone, methadone and Vicodin. When a person is overdosing on an opioid, breathing can slow down or stop and it can very hard to wake them from this state. To help reverse the effects of the overdose, Nalaxone is administered to the user, allowing additional time for medical services to be rendered.
The Lakeland Police Department uses two brandnames of the medication. The Department purchased twenty-five of the Nalaxone kits in late 2016 for deployment within certain specialty groups or areas. In early 2017, the Department requested 135 Naloxone kits through a state grant, however we only received 62. In total the Department has 87 doses available for use. Those officers issued Naloxone, do not store it in their vehicles and are required to carry it on their person due to the antidote’s sensitivity to temperature and light. It is recommended that it be kept out of direct light and at room temperature between 68 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit.
Every uniformed patrol supervisor, including Sergeants and Lieutenants, have been issued the medication to administer should a situation arise where it is needed. All sworn personnel and certain civilian members within the agency have received training on how to use the Naloxone antidote. Specialty Units such as SWAT, Traffic, Neighborhood Liaisons, K-9, Special Investigations and Street Crimes also have doses available for easy access. In addition, the antidote is readily available to our Property and Evidence Section and the Forensic Services Unit, should accidental exposures occur during the processing and storage of evidence.
It is also important to know that with any overdose call within the City of Lakeland, the trained medical professionals of the Lakeland Fire Department (LFD) are dispatched simultaneously to the scene. All of LFD’s apparatuses are stocked with the Naloxone antidote. If both teams arrive at the same time, as they often do, LFD will administer the medication and continue with life saving measures. We believe this deployment strategy is effective for the City of Lakeland.
We hope this answers some of the questions you may have about the medication. Our agency is continuing to seek other grant opportunities to acquire additional Naloxone kits.
The Lakeland Police Department is currently investigating two suspicious homemade bottle devices found at separate locations this morning. Both were plastic bottles containing an unknown liquid substance and aluminum foil inside. Neither device was activated.
LAKELAND, FL - (November 3, 2017) The Lakeland Police Department will be accepting applications for the 2017 Cops for Kids Toy Donation program on Monday, November 6, 2017. Parents or guardians needing assistance must register at the police station between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. in the Don Jones Community Room, located on the second floor of the station. Fami ...
LAKELAND, FL (November 3, 2017) - At approximately 8:43 p.m. Lakeland Police officers responded to 726 W Crescent Drive in response to complaints of a man with a gun yelling racial slurs at neighbors. Neighbors reported that Jerry Roach, age 71, fired a shot in the air and then pointed his gun at them from his front yard. Multiple officers responded to the area, set up a per ...
On October 20, 2017 at approximately 2:55 a.m., the Lakeland Police Department responded to 2000 US 92 East in reference to an unconscious male in the roadway, possibly in cardiac arrest. Upon arrival, officers determined the male had been struck by a vehicle while he was walking along the roadway. The pedestrian, Brandon Mills, age 24, was declared deceased by Polk County Fire ...
On Friday, August 4th, 2017, members of Lakeland Police Department and the Florida Highway Patrol will be conducting Safety and Sobriety Saturation Patrols from the hours of 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. in the areas of Highway 92 (Memorial Blvd.), Florida Avenue, Highway 98 North and Highway 98 South. Additionally these mobile saturation patrols will be used for Safety Belt Enforcem ...
LAKELAND, FL (July 8, 2017) - The Lakeland Police Department responded to a traffic crash involving a motorcycle and a vehicle on July 8, 2017 at approximately 2:00 a.m. According to reports, Stephen Cimino, age 50 from Land O’Lakes, was traveling westbound in the outside lane near the 1000 block of Memorial Boulevard in a 2003 Cadillac DeVille. Traveling in the distance behind ...
On June 30, 2017, at approximately 2:27 a.m., the Lakeland Police Department responded to 740 East Main Street in reference to a witness saying they observed a vehicle driving around the pedestrian walkway on Lake Mirror. This is not a designated roadway and was designed for pedestrian traffic only. The driver, Derek Whiting, 25 years old of Lakeland was driving a Volkswagon J ...
On June 24, at approximately 3:35 p.m., the Lakeland Police Department responded to a disturbance at the Southwest Sports Complex, 1444 West Highland Street. During a game, a 2-year-old child got separated from her parents. A citizen who was at the at the game visiting a few friends noticed the young girl wandering by herself and believed that she was lost.