Alders Smith and Hubbard examine Narcan nasal sprays. Every New Haven police officer may soon carry overdose-reversing medication — in a donated pouch on their uniform’s vest.That’s thanks to Fiona Cullen Firine and Joseph Firine, who are looking to donate $5,700 to be used for Narcan vest pouches by the New Haven Police Department (NHPD).The couple joined Police Chief Karl Jacobson at City Hall Tuesday night to speak in support of the proposed donation. The Board of Alders Public Safety Committee unanimously recommended accepting the donation, which now heads to the full Board of Alders for a final vote. The couple runs the nonprofit For Cameron, which they founded in the wake of their son Cameron’s unintentional fentanyl overdose in 2018. Now, the group works on education to reduce stigma about opioid addiction, and advocates for the widespread adoption of Narcan — the brand name for naloxone — a lifesaving medication that any bystander can use to reverse fatal opioid overdoses.“We know it’s imperative that law enforcement carry Narcan,” Cullen Firine told the alders, likening it to tourniquets police carry to stop bleeding from gunshot wounds. ​“We think of Narcan as a first aid tool that officers should always have available.”Currently, only NHPD officers in the K‑9 units carry Narcan to protect the dogs from fentanyl exposure. With the donation, Chief Jacobson said they will supply the whole department — currently 334 officers — with pouches full of Narcan. The drug works — a CNN Health review of medical data in Massachusetts found that 93.5 percent of people survived their overdose when given naloxone, and 84.3 percent were alive a year later. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, as a nasal spray, for over-the-counter use in March 2023. Jacobson testified in support of accepting the donation, saying that two officers had been hospitalized because of fentanyl exposure. In an interview with the Independent after the meeting, he said he hopes to train officers with Narcan in the next two months and have the medication in police officers’ pouches on the street by January. During Tuesday’s hearing, committee alders praised the couple for their dedication to helping others in the face of such intense personal tragedy. West Hills Alder Honda Smith shared that she’d had a sister die who was using drugs. “I remember waking up seeing her on the floor from an overdose, and I couldn’t help her because I didn’t know how to,” Smith said. ​“But with this tool, it makes it easier to help others that are out there that need help.”After testifying, Cullen Firine said she was moved by the supportive reactions of alders.“I almost teared up a couple of times, because when we began our nonprofit, we came from such a place of fighting stigma, fighting to be heard, fighting to make people understand [overdose] could happen to anyone,” Cullen Firine reflected. ​“To go in there tonight to such a gracious group, it was actually very touching.”The couple did lament the delays in getting Narcan to police officers, as they had initially met with then-NHPD Acting Chief Renee Dominguez to discuss providing Narcan to officers in November 2021, almost exactly three years ago. They said the delay was because of hesitancy from the union in giving Narcan to every officer beyond the medical teams. Police union President Florencio Cotto did not immediately respond to a request for comment.As for For Cameron, their next step is passing statewide legislation for all first responders to carry Narcan. “Somebody asked me yesterday, ​‘How many lives do you think it’ll save?’ And I said, you know, I don’t know that,” Cullen Firine said. ​“We’re going to need that data, but if it saves one life, that’s one human life.”Fiona Cullen Firine (center): “We think of Narcan as a first aid tool that officers should always have available.”