SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Fentanyl overdose deaths are up more than 400% over the past two years in San Diego County.
The San Diego Field Division Narcotic Task Force Overdose Response Team has the mission to investigate overdose deaths in San Diego County primarily related to fentanyl overdoses.
The Overdose Response Team was formed in July 2018 in response to the increase in overdose deaths plaguing San Diego County, like the rest of the nation.
Investigators assigned to the Overdose Response Team work with local law enforcement and the San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office to treat overdose deaths as criminal acts.
The team responds to overdose scenes around the clock and aggressively pursues criminal cases up the distribution chain, against the dealers of death and their sources of supply.
Once an investigation has begun, the team frequently works non-stop, moving rapidly up the distribution chain to the second or third level.
They do this while showing compassion and empathy for the family and friends of the deceased and often obtain assistance and cooperation from family and friends through the team’s understanding that the deceased is a victim.
The Overdose Response Team has made an immediate impact by making arrests on overdose investigations, some of which ultimately led to successful prosecutions of fentanyl sources on distribution charges with enhancements for causing death.
One landmark case by this team involves the overdose death of an 18-year-old woman. Brandon Jacob Shepherd was sentenced to 14 years for selling fentanyl that resulted in her death.
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