FRANKLIN, Mass. (WPRI) — It’s been one year since officers in Franklin, Massachusetts, started carrying EpiPens around, and they say it’s already saving lives.

Officer David Ricci, the medical liaison for the department, began researching and developing the program after he was asked why their officers don’t carry them.

Now, each officer on duty has an adult and child EpiPen in their first aid kit. They take them in their patrol vehicles out to calls and bring them back into the building when they return.

The department has received more than 75 calls for allergic reactions since the start of the program and has used the EpiPens four times.

On one recent call, officers responded to a church where a man stung by a bee was unaware he was allergic.

“We drive smaller vehicles. We can get there substantially faster and when there is anaphylaxis it could be a matter of seconds that saves a life,” Ricci recalled. “You do CPR and you get a heartbeat, it’s the same feeling, and really and truly It’s cliché, but most people become cops to save lives.”

The EpiPens, which do expire, cost Franklin police about $2,000 a year. Ricci is hoping for either a state or federal grant that can help all police departments get them.

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