“I’ve had an opportunity to review the video and we’ve chosen to move forward with a child endangerment charge”, Fitzpatrick said Wednesday.
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She was not immediately arrested but police now are seeking a child endangerment charge against a Salem, New Hampshire, mother who apparently overdosed and collapsed in front of her 2-year-old daughter in a Lawrence store Sunday.
In a nearby diaper bag, police found baggies and straws with residue from either fentanyl or heroin they say the woman likely inhaled.
McGowen was seen in a video overdosed in the toy aisle of a Family Dollar. “Its obvious addiction has overtaken them, to the point of not being able to care for their child”, Mr. Fitzpatrick said.
The chief explained the charge by saying, “the fact that she was so intoxicated by the drug that she couldn’t take care of the child”.
The responders, who show up at the end of the video, ultimately gave the woman two doses of naloxone, a life-saving drug that undoes the effects of an opioid overdose.
Lawrence Police captain Roy Vasque says the incident is one of the worst aspects of drug addiction.
In the case of an overdose, when a child is present, police are required by law to immediately alert the state’s Department of Children and Families.
Vasque has said that addicts are commonly warned that their children are in peril.
Lawrence police chief James Fitzpatrick told WBZ-TV that despite the discomfort at seeing the distressed child, it brought to light the realities behind drug use. As of the time of publication, she has not been charged with any crime.
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Police said while they wish the person taking the video had helped the frantic child, the clip is evidence for a child endangerment charge.
