Man suffering overdose in Lake County courtroom saved by correctional officers

Three Lake County Sheriff's correctional officers are winning praise after they revived a man who suffered an apparent opioid overdose Wednesday morning while sitting in the gallery of a county courtroom.

Authorities said Corrections Sgt. Timothy Specht, Officer Karrie Lee and Officer Melissa Dunn were in courtroom C-120 at the county courthouse in Waukegan just before 10:30 a.m. Wednesday when they saw the 24-year-old man slumped over in the public seating area.

They approached and discovered the man was unconscious and barely breathing, sheriff's police said. After determining he likely was suffering an overdose, the officers administered two doses of the anti-opiate naloxone, which allowed him to breathe normally and eventually regain consciousness.

The man, who was taken to a hospital for evaluation, later admitted to using the prescription drug Xanax and heroin before arriving at the courthouse.

"I am very proud of Corrections Sergeant Timothy Specht, Corrections Officer Karrie Lee, and Corrections Officer Melissa Dunn for their quick actions which resulted in a life being saved, as well as our court security officers who recognized the man was in distress," Sheriff Mark Curran said in a news release Thursday. "Someone overdosing in a courtroom highlights the opioid epidemic we face."