Two Idaho sheriff's deputies talk dangers of fentanyl after being poisoned via accidental exposure

Apr 08, 2023

Bannock County Sheriff's Office deputies Gabe Rollene, left, and Eli Schei say they experienced fentanyl poisoning after they were accidental exposed to the substance during a traffic stop last month.

POCATELLO — Two Idaho sheriff's office deputies are warning the public about the dangers of fentanyl after they were reportedly poisoned when accidentally exposed to the deadly substance during a traffic stop last month.

Bannock County Sheriff's Office deputies Gabe Rollene and Eli Schei recently sat down with the Idaho State Journal to share the harrowing experience and remind local residents how dangerous the synthetic opioid that's 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine can truly be.

The incident unfolded on May 1 when Schei initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle that was heading northbound on Interstate 15 near Fort Hall, Schei said.

Schei says he observed drug paraphernalia in plain sight when he approached the vehicle, which resulted in him asking the driver to exit the car so he could conduct a search.

Gabe Rollene

Before searching the vehicle, Rollene, who has been with the sheriff's office for three years, arrived on scene to provide assistance, a standard occurrence when suspected illegal narcotics are located inside a car.

Both Rollene and Schei searched the vehicle, locating suspected methamphetamine, pills suspected to contain fentanyl and drug paraphernalia, Schei said.

"I ended up arresting the guy, putting him in the back of my car and leaving the scene," Schei said.

The driver of the car was placed in the back of Schei's patrol car to be transported to the Bannock County Jail and Rollene remained at the scene while waiting for a tow truck to arrive and impound the suspect's vehicle.

After turning around to begin heading back toward Pocatello on southbound Interstate 15, Schei said he momentarily lost consciousness while driving.

"I blacked out while I was driving, came back to and then started going back out again before I pulled my car over and called for assistance," said Schei, who is a seven-year veteran of the sheriff's office.

Eli Schei

After pulling over, Rollene, who had left the initial scene to come and provide assistance to Schei, and a fellow sheriff's office deputy arrived at Schei's vehicle within minutes.

"Fort Hall (emergency medical services) arrived right after Rollene and the other deputy and I was given a dose of Narcan," Schei said, noting that Narcan is a medication that all sheriff's office deputies carry and is used to reverse opioid poisoning. "I started to come back a little bit, but was nodding off still, too, so Fort Hall loaded me into their ambulance pretty quickly and rushed me up to Portneuf (Medical Center)."

Rollene added, "Shortly after I heard Schei radio for help I started to experience similar symptoms as I began to head their way. My heart started beating fast and it was hard to grip the steering wheel. They also gave me some Narcan before loading me up into a separate ambulance and taking me up to Portneuf."

Initially, Rollene, as crazy as it might sound, thought that he might be experiencing some sort of sympathetic symptoms similar to Couvade syndrome or sympathetic pregnancy, which happens when a pregnant woman's partner has symptoms that uncannily mimic pregnancy.

"At first I tried to play it off cool, like maybe it was a sympathy thing after Schei went down but the symptoms progressively continued to get worse," Rollene said. "If you’ve seen videos of this sort of thing happening to other officers it seems pretty extreme, like there was no way they were actually affected that bad, but after experiencing it, I got to say it feels pretty real."

According to an NPR article published earlier this month, reports of police suffering severe medical symptoms after touching or inhaling powdered fentanyl are common, occurring "every few weeks" around the U.S.

"But many experts say these officers aren't experiencing fentanyl or opioid overdoses," the NPR article states, quoting medical experts who say there has never been a toxicologically confirmed case of someone overdosing from inhaling fentanyl or absorbing it through their skin.

Though Schei and Rollene believe they could have overdosed had they not been administered Narcan so quickly, they are convinced they did suffer medical symptoms due to accidental fentanyl exposure. In fact, their discharge paperwork from PMC states exactly such.

And regardless of whether or not fentanyl poisoning from accidental exposure is legitimate or not, Bannock County isn't taking any chances. Bannock County spokesperson Emma Iannacone says Narcan has been distributed at all of the county's public facing locations that handle cash, including the Driver's License office, the Landfill, Bonds and Fines, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Treasurer's Office.

Even after both deputies were administered the opioid reversal drug and admitted to the hospital for several hours for observation, their symptoms persisted for hours after the initial exposure.

"Three minutes after I was given Narcan my blood pressure was still 190/130. After I got home from the hospital, I didn't sleep for 30 hours straight," Schei said. "After working that late night shift I ended up staying up the entire next day and didn't get to sleep until the day after."

Rollene added, "The same with eating. I was not hungry at all, like I didn't eat breakfast, lunch or dinner the next day."

Rollene described feeling as if his legs turned to Jello and his cognitive skills were lacking.

"The EMS crew was asking me questions and I knew the answers but I just couldn't relay that information, even my date of birth I couldn't give back to them," he said.

In response to the accidental exposure incident, Bannock County Sheriff Tony Manu said fentanyl has contributed to the increase of overdose deaths and poses a serious challenge for Idaho law enforcement and Idaho public health.

"The inherent risks of law enforcement are challenging enough without having to worry about being exposed to the invisible killer in fentanyl," Manu said. "I am proud of the dedication and commitment displayed by both Deputy Rollene and Deputy Schei and I’m glad they’re okay. I’m especially thankful for the quick action taken by the responders who helped save them from what could have been a much scarier ordeal."

As a result of the experience, both Schei and Rollene said they have a newfound understanding of how to assist someone who is dealing with an adverse reaction or overdose from opioids such as fentanyl.

"It's more than knowing how to push Narcan," Schei said. "I now know what their next symptoms are going to be and I can better react to the situation."

In spite of some of the recent media coverage describing accidental fentanyl exposures among law enforcement officers as myths, Rollene said he and Schei felt comfortable sharing their experience with local residents because of how prevalent the substance has become in Southeast Idaho.

"It's becoming more and more relevant every day," Rollene said. "I mean we’re finding 10,000 of these pills left out in the open on park benches or hidden in candy boxes. It's important that we let the public know that it's here and unfortunately the fears are legitimate."

And when presented with some of the information contained within the NPR article about police suffering medical symptoms from fentanyl exposure, Schei said he is convinced that the fentanyl medical experts are studying in a laboratory is much less potent than the substances that are street manufactured and for the most part smuggled into the country through the southern border by Mexican drug cartels.

"This stuff is changing every day and the people that make it are constantly looking for ways to make it act faster and for your body to absorb it easier," Schei said. "And you have to remember that this substance is going to affect someone who is of average size, regularly fit and not using drugs in a much more different way than someone who is a regular user and has developed a tolerance."

Nonetheless, both Rollene and Schei are thankful for the quick response from their fellow members of law enforcement, adding that because of the location they were in — just outside of Chubbuck city limits but not quite into Fort Hall — officers from numerous agencies including Pocatello, Chubbuck, Idaho State Police and Fort Hall responded to render aid.

"This could have been a lot worse than it was," Rollene said. "Say by chance either one of us would have played it off like we were fine then it could for sure have been way worse for us."

In light of the incident, Manu is encouraging local residents and businesses to understand the dangers of fentanyl and to take the necessary precautions to ensure they are prepared in the event of a fentanyl emergency.

"This incident underscores why we take this drug so seriously," Manu said. "Having naloxone, or Narcan, on hand can save a life. I encourage people and organizations to look into the Idaho Harm Reduction Program or talk to your pharmacy about obtaining doses of Narcan. You never know when you could be the first responder to an overdose."

Originally published on idahostatejournal.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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