Pueblo deputy recovering after passing out during fentanyl arrest

(PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo.) — A deputy is recovering after the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) said she went unconscious during an arrest for suspected fentanyl possession on Tuesday, July 23.

According to PCSO, deputies originally responded around 4 a.m. to the Loaf N Jug on Santa Fe Drive on a report of an unwanted person at the store. When deputies arrived, they met with 31-year-old Anthony Gendoes, who they discovered had an active warrant.

PCSO said deputies wearing protective gloves performed a pat down of Gendoes and found suspected fentanyl pills and paraphernalia on him. Gendoes also admitted to deputies that he had just “smoked fentanyl” prior to deputies’ arrival. Gendoes was placed into custody inside a patrol car while deputies processed the suspected drugs, PCSO said.

After Gendoes was placed into custody, PCSO said one of the deputies began feeling ill and subsequently fell to the ground unconscious. Another deputy administered two doses of Narcan, a fast-acting overdose counteractant, to the deputy before she regained consciousness She was then taken to the hospital via ambulance before being treated and released to recover at home.

Watch the body camera footage of the incident as released by PCSO below:

“I’m so thankful our deputy is recovering and will be back to work soon,” said Pueblo County Sheriff David J. Lucero. “Our deputies put their lives on the line every day and this is just a reminder of the dangers of this deadly drug.”

PCSO said its department contacted the Colorado State Patrol Hazmat team to test and safely bag the pills and paraphernalia. According to PCSO, the State Patrol’s presumptive test was positive for fentanyl.

Gendoes was arrested on his outstanding warrant as well as a new charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance. He was booked into the Pueblo County Jail and is due in court on July 25.

It should be noted that medical experts have contested the possibility of an overdose simply by exposure to fentanyl. During an interview on this topic with FOX21 News in 2022, the Colorado Health Network said fentanyl must be introduced into the bloodstream or a mucus membrane in order for it to have any effect. The Sheriff’s Office said it is still investigating how the deputy came into contact with the drug.

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