Henderson leaders say highly potent fentanyl drove massive spike in overdoses

HENDERSON, Ky. — Local law enforcement, government and civic leaders gathered at the Henderson Police Department's headquarters Friday morning to discuss a tragic series of fentanyl overdoses that had shocked the Kentucky city in recent days.

It has proven a deadly start to the new year for Henderson residents – there have been at least 14 fentanyl overdoses since Jan. 1, four of which proved fatal, according to the Henderson Police Department.

That compares with the 17 fatal fentanyl overdoses the county recorded throughout all of 2022, and HPD Chief Sean McKinney said the trend marked more than an "uptick." He called it a "spike."

"I just want to send a plea out to anyone – If you know someone who is struggling with opioid addiction, allow us to help you," McKinney said. "If you're in need of help and need to be placed in a treatment facility, please call us. We can help."

More:They were small-town Indiana friends. Fentanyl killed them both.

'You can't arrest your way out of this'

McKinney told the news media Friday the surge led his department to double the number of staff investigating narcotics trafficking from two full-time detectives to four, and their work would run alongside that of a joint city-county narcotics task force.

But that move alone won't be enough, McKinney said. To combat overdoses, the department will continue to supply free Narcan, a drug that can reverse overdoses, and expand existing programs that aim to enroll people suffering from opioid use disorder into treatment.

"We want to help you get into a treatment facility," McKinney said, as he pleaded with residents to aid those suffering from addiction. "If you know someone who is struggling with opioid addiction, allow us to help you."

Henderson residents benefit from Kentucky legislation protecting people who report overdoses to law enforcement from prosecution. McKinney encouraged residents to take advantage of the so-called "Good Samaritan's Law" to call first responders in the event of an overdose.

More:As fentanyl deaths soar, providers push new treatments, harm reduction

The police department also said it would be partnering with River Valley Behavioral Health, BrightView and other treatment facilities to help enroll addicts in programs designed to treat opioid use disorder.

Those partnerships would bolster the department's existing work through the Angel Initiative, a nationwide program that gives amnesty to people who voluntarily seek help and turn their drugs and paraphernalia over to police.

"There's a saying in law enforcement: 'You can't arrest your way out of some things,'" McKinney said. "And we never really like that, but it's just the truth in some areas... There has to be a treatment side to this."

Henderson Mayor Brad Staton, who recently replaced longtime mayor Steve Austin, said the spread of fentanyl is a "very serious issue."

"Fentanyl is killing our kids, fentanyl is killing our parents, fentanyl is killing our people of all ages," Staton said. "We have leaders installed throughout this community and citizens throughout this community who will not stand idly by while there is a threat that is killing our people."

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For decades, doctors have safely used pharmaceutical-grade fentanyl to treat severe pain and provide comfort to patients suffering from terminal illnesses. But in recent years, illicitly produced fentanyl has driven U.S. overdose deaths to all-time highs.

According to data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, synthetic opioids – which include fentanyl – accounted for the majority of U.S. overdose deaths in 2022. The C.D.C. has not yet published final numbers for 2022, but a 2021 report determined overdoses claimed 107,622 lives that year: a 15% increase from 2020.

The C.D.C. and local agencies, including the Henderson and Evansville police departments, say the trend has only worsened thanks to the proliferation of counterfeit prescription pills that contain illicit fentanyl.

Investigators on both sides of the Ohio River seized thousands of the pills last year, and counterfeit pills are routinely noted in police reports and death investigations.

Digital evidence key to investigating overdoses

Law enforcement agencies in Henderson and in Evansville say fentanyl is now the primary target of anti-narcotics operations. Increasingly, detectives and prosecutors treat overdoses as crime scenes and work backward to determine who sold the victim drugs.

Last year, prosecutors in Vanderburgh County and in Henderson charged multiple accused dealers with distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, a felony that can net decades-long prison sentences. Some of the accused dealers were as young as 18-years-old.

More:Henderson teenager accused of dealing fentanyl that caused overdose deaths

Fifty-first Circuit Commonwealth Attorney Herbert McKee Jr. said he and Henderson County Attorney Steve Gold are working to help investigators prosecute complicated overdose cases.

"Fentanyl is the deadliest drug that we've ever seen," McKee said Friday. "And right now, it's everywhere."

McKee told the Courier & Press overdose investigations routinely involve thousands of pages of digital records extracted from cellphones. Accessing the messages, photos and other data contained on victims' mobile devices is critical, he said, to successfully prosecute dealers.

More:Evansville-area police, prosecutors going after a new target in fentanyl-related deaths

"These are tough cases to put together; trafficking cases aren't easy to build," McKee said. "But my team in the Commonwealth Attorney's Office are working hand-in-hand with law enforcement to get these cases charged appropriately."

Chief McKinney spoke haltingly at times during Friday's news conference, especially when he referenced the deaths of two Henderson teenagers who overdosed on fentanyl last year.

"One of those 17-year-olds lived in my neighborhood," McKinney said. "He played with my 17-year-old, I coached him in baseball and basketball, gave him rides to school. So that one hit very close to home."

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McKinney characterized fentanyl as a uniquely dangerous and addictive drug that warrants an "all hands on deck" response from law enforcement, community leaders, healthcare workers and the public.

Just 13 days into the new year, the drug had killed four people and injured 10 others, but sadly, no one expects the tragedy to end there. McKinney estimated it will take years to address the underlying forces that push the sale of fentanyl and cause opioid addiction.

"This is our number one focus right now," he said. "We have a lot of things in the city that we have to do, but right now, fentanyl is killing our citizens."

Houston Harwood can be contacted at walter.harwood@courierpress.com with story ideas and questions.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Henderson leaders say potent fentanyl drove massive spike in overdoses