BOULDER, Colo. — The Boulder Police Department is asking for the public's help following an "unusually high number of overdoses."
Officers have responded to five suspected fentanyl-related overdoses in the city within the past 36 hours, according to the department, and believe there could be a "new type and/or tainted strain of fentanyl on the street."
Around 12:04 p.m. Tuesday, officers, Boulder firefighters and AMR paramedics responded to Central Park for a man who was not breathing or conscious. The man was given Narcan and taken to the hospital for further treatment, according to Boulder PD.
Then at 3 p.m., officers responded to 13th Street and Canyon Boulevard for another man who was not breathing or conscious. Boulder PD said he had already been given a dose of Narcan before help arrived, and was given a second dose by officers. After the second dose, he began to breathe again.
A third overdose was reported twenty minutes later at an apartment on 30th Street.
On Wednesday, officers responded to two reported overdoses — one at noon and the second at 3 p.m. In both cases, it is believed that fentanyl was taken, and Narcan was administered.
Boulder PD is asking anyone with information about these cases or who might be supplying the drugs to call the department dispatch at 303-441-3333.
In the past 36 hours Boulder Police have responded to five suspected fentanyl-related overdoses in the city and want to warn the public that there could be a new type and/or a tainted strain of fentanyl on the street.
— Boulder Police Dept. (@boulderpolice) April 12, 2023
We are currently investigating this unusually high number of… pic.twitter.com/0z4FYYCeub
The same day Boulder police put out the call for information, the Biden administration warned of fentanyl laced with the animal tranquilizer xylazine. A spokesperson for Boulder PD said it's "too early to tell" if xylazine was involved in the recent overdoses.
The police department said it has documented more than 25 overdoses since the beginning of the year, but there have likely been more that have not been reported.
