Two Clovis Police officers were hospitalized after exposure to fentanyl during an arrest on Sunday, Aug. 8.
According to a Clovis PD news release, the exposure happened at 2:40 p.m. Officers were dispatched to Trader Joe’s at Willow and Nees avenues, where they encountered a suspicious individual.
When officers arrived, they arrested Patrick Martin, a man with several warrants. After searching his vehicle, the officers located a plastic container filled with a white substance.
The officers packed the container in a paper bag and secured it in the trunk of the patrol car.
As both officers headed to Clovis PD headquarters, they began to have shortness of breath and an elevated heart rate. The officers stopped their vehicle, and paramedics arrived on the scene to treat both officers.
According to Clovis PD, both officers were taken to the hospital and later released in stable condition.
A Clovis PD drug task force tested the substance, which came back positive for fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Martin was booked Sunday night and transported to the Fresno County Jail for the warrants and a drug charge.