Rochester, MN Police Respond to Drug Overdoses at Two Encampments

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- Rochester Police responded to two drug overdoses reported Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. 

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Police Captain Casey Moilanen said the first overdose call came in shortly after 5:11 p.m. Wednesday and the second was reported shortly after 4 a.m. Thursday. The overdoses were reported to have occurred in two apparent homeless encampments. 

Moilanen said an individual called law enforcement to the first overdose at an encampment behind the Guest House Hotel, which is in the area of Famous Daves off of Civic Center Dr. Northwest. Responding officers found an unresponsive 31-year-old man at the encampment. 

Officers administered two doses of Narcan and CPR. The man came to and was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital for further treatment. 

The second overdose call started when a woman walked into the Warming Center off of 4th St. Southeast in downtown Rochester and asked staff for a blanket for her friend who had just overdosed. Moilanen said the woman initially refused to tell officers who responded to the shelter where the overdose had happened before leading them to an encampment near the amphitheater in west Mayo Park.  

Police encountered a 24-year-old man who had been given narcan by the woman who had asked for the blanket. Moilanen said the man was alert when officers arrived and refused further medical care.

The response to the suspected overdose calls in the apparent encampments comes after police found the body of 69-year-old Marvin Peterson in a tent at an apparent encampment in Soldiers Field Park Tuesday morning. Moilanen said officers found drug paraphernalia inside of the tent but said investigators are awaiting results of an autopsy to determine his cause and manner of death. 

In June officers responded to an apparent homeless encampment at Cook Park where a parks department employee discovered the body of 61-year-old Carl Blade. A determination of the cause and manner of his death is still pending.

If you or someone you know if struggling with drug and/or alcohol dependence, help is available through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website. To speak to someone on the phone, dial 1-800-622-HELP (1-800-622-4357) or send a text message to 1-800-487-4889.

The reported overdoses Wednesday and Thursday also come after officers responded to three drug overdose calls involving four people last weekend. One of the suspected drug overdose victims, described as a 39-year-old woman, was found dead by responding officers.