Mount Prospect police to carry anti-overdose drug naloxone

Mount Prospect police officers will now be equipped with naloxone, a medication used to stave off opiate drug overdoses, the department announced Monday.

The department is receiving naloxone from the DuPage County Department of Public Health to combat an epidemic of opiate abuse and heroin use. Naloxone counteracts an overdose to allow patients to breath normally. Officers have been trained to administer the medication nasally.

"The opiate addiction is a very real problem for the entire Chicago metropolitan area and across the nation," Police Chief Tim Janowick said.

Mount Prospect Fire Department firefighters also have access to naloxone.