As municipalities grapple with how to address the opioid crisis, which has resulted in a premature death rate surpassing gun deaths and car crashes, experts agree that harm reduction approaches like medically assisted treatment (MAT) are essential.
Yet in many cases, treatment clinics have a fraught relationship with law enforcement, and it's previously been reported that cops patrol methadone clinics for easy collars.
One NYPD officer made his feelings abundantly clear over the weekend. In a clip posted to Twitter, a cop was seeing whipping out his gun and telling a man "take a f*cking walk right now," the Gothamist reports.
"There's no reason to pull out a gun," the man said. In response, the officer shouted,"Go shoot your f*cking heroin and die. Alright?"
The NYPD released a statement to Gothamist, saying: "The commanding officer has been made aware of the video and is looking into it."
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