GLASTONBURY, Conn. (AP) — A volunteer firefighter in Connecticut apologized for suggesting during a confrontation with a Black Lives Matter leader that a drug used to revive opioid overdose victims should be banned so that “when people overdose, you let them die.”
The Hartford Courant reports that the exchange between Glastonbury firefighter James Stanley and activist Ivelisse Correa happened Sunday during a food drive organized by Black Lives Matter activists.
In a video that she shot, Correa asks Stanley why Glastonbury residents are not dealing with the opioid epidemic in their own backyard. Stanley responds, using a curse word, “Why don’t you get rid of Narcan and when people overdose, you let them die.”
Narcan is the brand name for a device that delivers naloxone, a drug used to treat people who have overdosed on opioids.
Stanley apologized for the comment when the Courant reached out to him by Facebook messenger.
“I too have suffered loss to substance addiction and understand how hurtful my words were,” he wrote. “This comment in no way represents my character or conduct as a 20-year veteran of the fire service.”
The Glastonbury Fire Department said on its Facebook page that the comment was “by no means a reflection of those who dedicate themselves to protecting the residents and visitors of Glastonbury.”
The department added in the Facebook post, “This is a personnel matter, and there will be no further comment.”
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