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Man ODs Sitting In Court, Revived By Quick-Thinking Officers

(CBS) -- Three Lake County, Illinois Sheriff's correctional officers saved the life of a man who was slumped over in a Waukegan courtroom after he overdosed on opioids.

The 24-year-old man was in the courtroom, giving support to someone who had a case.

Sheriff Mark Curran says three correctional officers noticed the man slumped over and quickly determined he had probably overdosed.

They gave him naloxone, which blocks the effects of opioids.

"They did it twice, and essentially they saved his life as a result," Curran says.

The epidemic of opioids is getting worse in Lake County, he says.

"Ultimately, it just destroys your life.  In some ways it would be less painful to just put a bullet through your head than to die at the hands of this after years of struggle," Curran says.

The sheriff's office says the man admitted using Xanax and heroin.

 

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