Florida cop who OD’d from fentanyl exposure ‘couldn’t breathe’

The Florida cop who overdosed after being exposed to fentanyl during a traffic stop is speaking out about her near-death experience, saying she would have died if fellow officers weren’t nearby.

Officer Courtney Bannick of the Tavares Police Department drifted in and out of consciousness after accidentally ingesting the powerful narcotic — which is 100 times stronger than heroin — during a Tuesday traffic stop.

Bannick told local reporters Thursday she planned to return to her precinct to test the drug, but suddenly began gasping for air as she headed to her vehicle

“As soon as I started talking, I was light-headed a little bit and started almost choking,” she said, according to Click Orlando. “I couldn’t breathe. I wasn’t getting enough air and I remember kind of wheezing, gasping.”

A colleague noticed that she was in distress and administered three doses of Narcan, which reverses overdoses. Bannick was transported to a local hospital and has since returned to work.

The veteran officer, who was wearing surgical gloves while handling the narcotic, said she can’t clearly recall how she ingested the drug, but speculated she may have wiped her face at some point.

“I’m very mindful that I don’t touch my face if I have gloves on, but did I wipe my nose with my wrist? I don’t know,” she said.

Bannick, who asked that the footage be released to expose the synthetic opiod’s lethal potency, said the drug is constantly evolving.

“We’re not dealing with pharmaceutical-grade fentanyl,” she said. “Every day these street chemists are coming up with something because drug users are building a tolerance to it.”

All too familiar with fentanyl overdose victims who don’t recover, Bannick said she’s thankful to her fellow officers for bringing her back from the brink.

“If I was searching that car alone, or testing those drugs alone, or whatever the case may be and I didn’t have Narcan available, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t be here right now,” she said.

The unnamed suspects involved in the traffic stop are facing felony drug raps.