April 9, 2022 – Santa Barbara County, Ca.
Contrary to the perception of those involved in criminal behaviors, even when enforcing the law cops are primarily concerned with issues of public safety and harm prevention.
Evidence of that came just before the midnight hour on April 5 th on a stretch of the northbound U.S. 101 freeway when Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department deputies stopped a vehicle driving at excessive speeds. According to SBSD Public Information Officer Raquel Zick, Deputies Christopher Brady and Vicente Ramirez approached the suspect vehicle on the freeway shoulder and made contact with the driver. Brady immediately observed that the vehicle’s passenger “was purple in the face and had labored breathing.”
Brady quickly summoned emergency medical personnel to the scene and he and Ramirez extricated the adult male passenger to the roadside. A quick assessment of the man’s condition led them to determine he “was actively overdosing” and they promptly administered Naloxone nasal spray.
Medical personnel arrived shortly thereafter and transported the overdose victim to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. At that point, the two deputies turned their attention to the driver of the vehicle, 27-year-old Lompoc resident Destiny Tumey. A perfunctory search of the car led to the discovery of 914 grams of methamphetamine, 23 grams of marijuana, fentanyl, and drug
paraphernalia.
Tumey was taken into custody and transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where she was booked on possession of a controlled substance, possession of narcotics, and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was cited and released, although Tumey may be insulated from further charges pursuant to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s application of Assembly Bill 472, California’s 911 Good Samaritan Law, which insulates those who seek medical assistance “in good faith” for those experiencing a drug-related overdose under “certain circumstances.”
Photo: Courtesy www.pharmaceutical-journal.com
