OAK HILL, WV (WVNS)– Two Oak Hill Police Department officers who were injured during a reported attack Tuesday evening were able to return to work after treatment, Oak Hill Police Chief Mike Whisman said Wednesday, September 28, 2022.
Police said the two unidentified officers made a traffic stop on East Main Street around 6 p.m. on September 27, 2022. Two suspects allegedly ran from the vehicle, in the direction of nearby U.S. Route 19, as officers approached.
Police apprehended one of the suspects, Keith Deshon Adams, of North Carolina, but they were still searching for the second suspect, who has not yet been identified, on Sept. 28.
During the struggle, Whisman told 59News, the suspect pulled a plastic bag from his pocket, ripped it open, and put it in the officers’ faces. One of the officers immediately exhibited signs of a drug overdose. Moments later, the second officer showed similar symptoms.
Bystanders rushed to help officers, and an off-duty nurse administered NARCAN, which reverses the effects of an opiate overdose.
The unknown substance has been sent to the West Virginia State Police laboratory in Charleston for testing.
“Apparently, (it’s) something pretty powerful, that would’ve put both officers almost completely down, one of them completely down,” noted Whisman. “You go to numerous overdoses throughout time of people with fentanyl and other drugs, too, so apparently, they’re all pretty potent, you know.”
The officers required multiple injections of NARCAN. They were taken to Plateau Medical Center in Oak Hill, where they were treated and released, according to Whisman.
Adams has been charged with at least one count of attempted murder, for his alleged attack on the two officers. He was at Charleston Area Medical Center in Kanawha County on the morning of Sept. 28, 2022.
Fayette County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident, Fayette Sheriff Mike Fridley confirmed.