A quick-thinking cop revived a man outside of the Kamloops RCMP detachment last week who was overdosing and at risk of dying.

It happened at about 4 p.m. on Jan. 25. Const. Crystal Evelyn says the man was seen lying on a bench just outside the detachment, at 560 Battle Street.

Evelyn says the officer who found that the man wasn’t breathing and had almost no pulse, and says the officer was able to use naloxone to revive him.

“Luckily the officer had the quick sense to recognize what kind of medical emergency was occurring take fast action to prevent a potentially lethal overdose,” Evelyn says.

After naloxone was administered, the man was started to lose consciousness again and was taken to hospital by police.

Turning the calendar into 2021, the number of fatal overdoses in Kamloops and across B.C. was among the highest its ever been.

As of Nov. 30, there 1,548 fatal overdoses across B.C., which was just one fewer than the record of 1,549 in 2018. In Kamloops, there were 55 fatal overdoses from January to November of last year, which is more than the previous full-year record count, of 46 fatal overdoses in 2019.

The 2020 year-end overdose count is expected to be released on Feb. 11 by the BC Coroners Service.