Drug arrest leads to needle stick

  • Enterprise staff
  • Tuesday, October 28, 2008 5:53pm

Detectives with Shoreline’s Special Emphasis Unit arrested two suspects for drug possession on Oct. 21. At the time of the arrest, a 24-year-old female suspect asked a detective to get something from her purse. The detective reached into the purse and received a needle stick from an uncapped, used syringe.

Officers are trained for types of circumstances where exposures to blood borne pathogens occur and in these cases follow an Occupational Exposure Control Plan, according to police sergeant Katie Larson. The officer goes to a hospital within four hours of the exposure.

Due to the IV drug status of a suspect in this particular case, the detective involved was immediately placed on a mixture of antibiotics. In many people, the mixture of medications can have adverse effects and may have a negative effect on internal organs, according to a release.

The Health Department was able to obtain a blood sample from the suspect and run a panel of tests for HIV and Hepatitis after she voluntarily submitted to a blood test at Harborview Hospital.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.