(Newswire.net — September 23, 2016) — Police in Lawrence, Massachusetts have released footage of a toddler trying to awaken her mother after she passed out in a discount store.
The woman from Salem, overdosed in the toy aisle of a New Hampshire store, while her 2 year-old daughter who was crying tried to revive her, while a nearby shopper recorded the incident.
The heartbreaking video shows the toddler crying as she presses the woman’s neck and tries to pull her unconscious parent off the floor.
Bystanders called 911, but didn’t approach the woman until she has been recognized by a friend who checked if she is alive and tried to help until police arrived.
The police later released the video and said the women is expected to be charged with child endangerment by the end of the week. Lawrence authorities said they released the video as a wakeup call to others on the dangers of addiction.
“It’s heartbreaking. This is definitely evidence that shows what addiction can do to someone and what happens when they use these types of narcotics,” Lawrence Police Chief James Fitzpatrick told NECN.
“I don’t know if they have that thought process about what they’re sacrificing to feed their addiction.” Fitzpatrick said.
Police said the woman was revived with an opiate antidote, Narcan, and taken to hospital while the child was placed in “emergency custody” by the Department of Children and Families.
The police reported the woman overdosed with an oral version of heroin, as they found the narcotic in her bag. The video will be included as evidence as the woman is charged with the negligence.
Lawrence police Chief said the woman was so intoxicated that she was unable to take care of her child. Though he doesn’t approve releasing videos that shame drug abusers publically, Fitzpatrick said such videos might serve as a lesson to others.
“I could see that there’s a value in the fact that people can see how debilitating and what this addiction causes,” Fitzpatrick said.
Earlier this month, police in Ohio released shocking images of parents who had overdosed on heroin in their car while their four year-old son was in the back seat.
Over 500 cases of unintentional opioid overdose deaths have been recorded in Massachusetts in the first half of 2016.