The Estevan Police Service was called to a local park Sunday afternoon after a resident found a possible drug unit in the park.
Officers disposed of the needle so that it wouldn’t be a hazard.
Sgt. Tyler McMillen urged park users to be vigilant and keep their eyes open for items such as needles in parks. If they see anything suspicious, they should call police, because officers can come with containers and pick the needle up.
“We don’t want anybody touching it,” said McMillen. “As we all know, doctors and nurses glove up for a reason when they’re dealing with patients. It’s no different with needles.
“We don’t want people to be infected with something, or worst case, it’s a drug combination and somebody has an overdose or gets some side effects from it.”
The individual who notified police in this instance handled the situation properly, McMillen said.
It’s not known if the needle had been used for drug-related purposes, and McMillen said it would be tough to pinpoint a suspect, unless somebody saw or knows something, and supplies that information to police.
The EPS occasionally receives calls about possible drug paraphernalia or a suspicious substance being found in an alley or a dumpster. Sometimes the item is connected to drug use, other times the suspicion is unfounded, but the EPS still wants people to call them.
“I haven’t heard of one for quite some time, so we’re lucky in that sense,” said McMillen.
When the EPS makes school presentations or talks to kids, they always tell the students that if they find anything on a playground, they should tell a teacher or an adult, and not handle it themselves.
“If they find little baggies of something, or something unknown, we suggest don’t touch it, just call and we’ll come with the proper gloves or masks or whatever we need to discard it,” he said.
