Good Call: The Orlando Police Overdose Investigative Unit

Monday, April 18, 2022

1:00 PM – 2:15 PM ET

Location: A313-314

Presenter(s)

Stephen Marra, BS

Sergeant
Orlando Police Department
Orlando, Florida
Emanuel Gonzalez, BS

Corporal
Orlando Police Department
Orlando, Florida
Justin Lovett, BS

Sergeant
Orlando Police Department
Orlando, Florida
David Scott, BS

Sergeant
Orlando Police Department
Orlando Police Department
Orlando, Florida

Moderator(s)

Richard W. Sanders, MSCJ

Chief of Police
Jeffersontown Police Department
Jeffersontown, Kentucky

Central Florida, along with many areas across the country, has experienced an increase in opioid-related deaths. The Orlando Police Department formed an official unit with the main objective of responding to and investigating overdoses and reduce deaths. The unit consists of one sergeant and five detectives. This session will showcase investigative techniques with established outcomes to target fentanyl dealers and include multiple case studies. Presenters will focus on investigative practices from arriving on the scene of an overdose to testifying in front of a grand jury. These methods have proven successful during Operation “Good Call." Sixty-one fentanyl dealers were arrested in one years’ time including three grand jury indictments for first degree murder. Presenters will cover obstacles and roadblocks to proving a subject is responsible for the overdose death of the victim. The Overdose Investigative Unit also works in partnership with multiple peer groups. These peer groups assist active opioid addicts, as well as family members who fell victim to an overdose.

Learning Objectives:

Define investigative priorities when arriving on the scene of an overdose
Describe proactive and responsive operations to set up and arrest the dealer/supplier of the overdose investigation
Identify all potential evidence needed to turn the investigation over to the state attorney's office to file a homicide charge