(WSVN) - A Florida officer is now speaking out after having the scare of her life while on duty.
She was treated for an overdose after possibly being exposed to fentanyl and now, she’s hoping her terrifying experience could save a life in the future.
“I kept thinking like I’m fading and I’m fading fast,” said Tavares officer Courtney Bannick as she recalled the incident that occurred Tuesday.
Bannick did not remember passing out after coming in contact with fentanyl during a routine traffic stop.
Bodycam footage showed the moments her colleagues helped her.
She does not remember the three doses of Narcan needed to reverse the effects of an overdose either.
“Watching myself lifeless on camera — the people who we save don’t get to go back and watch this, and it’s an eye-opener,” said Bannick.
She was the one who asked for the video’s release.
“I’ve searched cars by myself, I’ve searched people by myself, I’ve tested narcotics by myself, but if I was by myself that day, I wouldn’t have gotten the help that I did,” Bannick said.
She was searching the car and suspects for an hour and is not sure exactly how the fentanyl got in her system that day, but doctors confirmed to her it did.
Even if some people online don’t believe her, Bannick hopes her experience is a reminder to others to always be careful.
“To the comments and everything like that, Narcan only works to reverse opiate overdoses,” said Bannick. “It does not work to get you out of anxiety attacks [or] to get you out of panic attacks. If you shoot yourself with Narcan you would have reverse effects. Before this, I thought it could never be me. I’ve handled fentanyl many times before. I never thought I’m going to overdose. [The drug] doesn’t discriminate. It can take out anybody.”
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