Arkansas police officers sent to hospital after exposure to fentanyl during arrest

Several Arkansas police officers were taken to the hospital after being exposed to Fentanyl during a traffic stop.

According to a news release, on Friday, Blytheville police officers stopped a vehicle and noticed a strong odor of Marijuana coming from the vehicle.

Police said they found a clear container with small baggies inside with a crystal-like substance that was believed to be meth and a small clear bag with suspected marijuana was located inside his left sock.

Inside the vehicle, officers found a clear bag containing suspected marijuana and four small blue pills believed to be Fentanyl. Officers also found five yellow circle pills, identified as Clonazepam, and another clear baggie with around 50 blue pills, also believed to be Fentanyl.

Thirty-five-year-old Travis Leachman and 27-year-old Brittany Deason were taken into custody and charged with the drugs.

While officers were heading to the Mississippi County Sheriff’s Office with the suspects, the officer told dispatch he was not feeling well and was pulling over.

Police said other officers responded to the area where the officer was and found him on the ground unconscious, suffering from the effects of exposure to the Fentanyl.

The unconscious officer was taken to Great River Medical Center for treatment. While there, police said the officers who had helped began to show signs of Fentanyl exposure and also lost consciousness.

About an hour later, a nurse who had been treating the first officer also showed signs of an overdose of Fentanyl and had to be treated, bringing the total of those treated for potential Fentanyl exposure to five.

On Monday, the suspects appeared in court for arraignment where the judge issued a bond of $1 million for each of them.