Policy Text
MOUNTAIN VIEW POLICE DEPARTM ENT
FIELD OPERATIONS DIVISION
TRAINING AND INFORMATION
BULLETIN
PAGE 1 OF 2
CONFIDENTI AL • FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT USE ONLY
2024
DATE: February 6, 2024
BULLETIN NUMBER: 24-02
SUBJECT: Fentanyl Overdose Death Response for Patrol (Upda te)
INFORMATION:
Santa Clara County has been experiencing an influx of overdoses specifically related to
Fenta nyl distribution of counte rfeit M30 pills , counterfeit Oxycodone pills, counte rfeit
Xanax, tainted cocaine, and tainted methamphetamine . It is important that responding
officers do not treat these Fentanyl overdose calls as just medic al response calls o r
simple coroner’s cases. If the person who sold the Fentanyl to the victim is ident ified
and evidence is collected , charges up to and including homicide can be fi led against the
drug dealer .
Fentanyl Deaths in Santa Clara County continue to rise (2020- 88 deaths, 2021- 106
deaths , 2022 – 160, 2023 - pending ). These death s sho uld be thought of as poisonings,
not overdoses , for investigative purposes . The victim s have no intention of dying and
are often unaware that the substance they are ing esting contains Fe ntanyl. Many of the
drug dealers are advertising their drugs as clean and not containing Fentanyl. Some
even go so far as to send the buyer a picture of a negative Fentanyl test .
When officers are responding to a call for service of a deceased person and it is believed
a Fentanyl o verdose occurred, they should evaluate the need for the following:
• Suicide or accidental overdose , if deemed a suicide no further action is needed
regarding a Fentanyl overdose response
• Seize any cellular phones owned by the vic tim as evidence , obtain the passcode
and place them in airplane mode , disable Wi-Fi and disable Bluetooth if possible
• Attempt to obtai n conse nt to s earch seized cellular phones from anyone present
• Obtain usernames and passwords for any of the victim ’s social media accoun ts
• Obtain victim’s email accoun t names and passw ords
• Interview all people present to obtain background information on the
victim/decedent and to identify a possible source of the drugs
• First time/long time user
• First overdose or priors
• What drug did the victim intend to ingest
• Document and collect any other narcotics found at the scene
MOUNTAIN VIEW POLICE DEPARTM ENT
FIELD OPERATIONS DIVISION
TRAINING AND INFORMATION
BULLETIN
PAGE 2 OF 2
CONFIDENTI AL • FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT USE ONLY
2024
Supervisors should :
• Respond to the scene
• Notify your L ieutenant a nd CSU supervisor as soon as possible
• A syno psis email should be sent to SC CSET, C SU, and CAP to make them aware
of the case
• Evaluate the need for detectives to de-brief or interview anyone willing to
cooperate in follow -up for drug sales cases
• Forward any rep orts to SCCSET , CSU, and CAP for tracking and follow -up
investigation when a Fentanyl overdose resulting in death has occurred
Prepared by: Lt. St. Clair (2022)
Updated by: Lt. Shueh
Approved by: Chief Canfield