New Jersey middle school high teacher overdoses on Fentanyl and faces charges after allegedly overdosing. The police claim that in November of last year, he overdosed on drugs around his students. 

As reported by the Westfield Police Department, the incident occurred on November 29 shortly after 9 a.m. when a different member of the staff at the school of Roosevelt Intermediate in Westfield discovered the unconscious instructor inside a classroom.

According to a statement made on Friday by Police Chief Christopher Battiloro, students first saw Frank Thompson, the drugged instructor, in trouble before an admin summoned Fortunato Riga, the resource officer, to the classroom. 

Riga remembered seeing Thompson “unconscious and motionless” on the ground, with the nurse actively attending to him.

Riga told the authorities that he observed Thompson displaying signs of opioid abuse and gave him the medicine naloxone hydrochloride, known as Narcan (used to cure the symptoms).

According to authorities, Thompson started “showing obvious signs of recovery” after being given the drug.

As per his teaching profile on the School website, Thompson, aged 57, taught visual art to students in grades 6 and 7, as well as arts and crafts to students in grade 8.

Authorities claim they found an amount of a suspected prohibited drug and drug paraphernalia in the cabinet of Thompson’s classroom during a police inquiry that followed the incident in the fall.

Frank’s trial in court with multiple charges of drug abuse

Thompson was accused of having Fentanyl and other controlled dangerous substances in his possession, as well as of having drug paraphernalia and compromising the welfare of kids. 

According to the police chief, the first and final offenses stated are third-degree offenses, while the remaining offense is a disorderly person infraction. Thompson will show up in court on February 1 after receiving a complaint summons.

The Westfield school apologized for being unable to immediately comment on the situation that happened in the classroom.

Superintendent Dr. Raymond said in a comment that while the Public School District cannot give feedback on private personnel matters, it will proceed to prioritize students’ and employees’ safety as well as maintain the integrity of the atmosphere in the classroom.

“In this case, the swift actions of Officer Riga, who is on-site at Roosevelt Intermediate each school day, proved instrumental in maintaining the safety of the students and administering potentially life-saving measures to Mr. Thompson,” Dr. Raymond stated.

All Westfield Police employees, including resource officers in schools like Riga, get Narcan and training on how to utilize it in situations where someone looks to be undergoing a drug overdose, claims the Westfield Police department.

Over 379 million doses of the drug fentanyl were reportedly recovered in 2022 by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is apparently enough to kill every American, according to experts.

The organization revealed this week that it seized around 10,000 pounds of Fentanyl and over 50 million fake prescription tablets last year.