East Liverpool Police Chief Explains Why He Shared That Photo

East Liverpool Police Chief Explains Why He Shared the Photo of the Overdosed Parents

Source: Marianne Williams Photography, http://halfasecondorless.com / Getty

EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio– It is an image police officers see just about everyday: People slumped over from an opiate overdose.

Often small children are near the person who used drugs, and officers try to save the adult while they attempt to shield young eyes from the ugly side effects of narcotics.

So on Wednesday, when officers found two adults passed out in the front seat of a vehicle and a 4-year-old boy in the backseat, a small-town police chief decided everyone needed to see what he sees.

“Enough already,” said East Liverpool Chief John Lane. “People need to know what is happening. This picture is graphic, it’s disturbing. I need people to get upset and help us take back the streets. I need the presidential candidates to look at this and tell me what they will do to fix it.”

Lane and Brian Allen, the city’s safety director, said they also hope the picture will deter other drug users.

The police report said an East Liverpool officer noticed an SUV with West Virginia license plates driving erratically on Wednesday. The officer witnessed the driver slam on the brakes as the SUV approached a stopped school bus that was dropping off kids. The SUV came to a stop in the middle of the road.

The officer said the driver’s head was bobbing and his speech was almost unintelligible.