Police officer accidentally overdosed on fentanyl during traffic stop

A Florida police officer overdosed after she was accidentally exposed to a small dose of suspected fentanyl during a routine traffic stop.

The events occurred this Tuesday. Officer Courtney Bannick stopped a vehicle and, upon searching it, found the drug wrapped in a dollar bill. Upon stopping the driver of the vehicle, the officer began to experience breathing difficulties and lost consciousness. According to colleagues who were with Bannick at the time of the incident, the officer may have inhaled some of the narcotic due to a gust of wind, which caused her to begin to feel dizzy and faint.

"I have done this one-hundred times before the same way. It only takes one time and a minimal amount," said Bannick. "I’m thankful I wasn’t alone and had immediate help. If the other officers weren’t there, there’s a very high chance and probability that today would be different."

Her colleagues administered three doses of Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of opiates such as fentanyl, before emergency services transported her to a hospital.

Tavares (Florida) Police Department Detective Courtney Sullivan told Fox 35 that her partner "was completely lifeless" after reviewing video from her body-cam.