OWINGSVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Halloween spirit is still on display in Owingsville. Many homes still have their decorations up. But one memory is still lingering online days after trick-or-treating. Owingsville Police Chief John Sutherland explains, "The police department was notified trick-or-treat night, or Halloween night that some medication was in their childrens' candy basket or bucket."
The child’s family identified them online as muscle relaxers. They immediately notified law enforcement and turned the pills over. This police chief says he's been in law enforcement for nearly 30 years. In that time, he says he's never experienced something like this happening in this community.
"I actually lost sleep over this because it is concerning because my grandson was trick-or-treating too. I just can’t believe we live in a time to where somebody would want to harm anybody, doing this. I mean just times are changing I guess,” says Chief Sutherland.
He says they did the right thing by turning the pills over to law enforcement. Now, he's warning this community and other parents to be vigilant about their kids on Halloween and any other event throughout the year.
The chief says, "If you do find foreign objects like metal objects, medication, or anything that's out of the ordinary we should immediately notify the police so that we can handle it more safe because with fentanyl being around and it's so dangerous, if some of that was on there it takes a micro amount to really do bad effects."
If your child does accidentally ingest something, it's important to call law enforcement and seek medical attention as soon as possible. The chief says there's a chance that this was intentional, but also a chance that this was an accident. He hopes it was a mistake. He says it's important for families to stay aware and stay safe.
Chief Sutherland says, "When you go to events, let alone trick-or-treating, there are other events to where you go to things and I guess just try to be aware of your situations, and areas, and circumstances and just try to be safer."
Owingsville participates in a drug takeback program. When you have medicine that has expired or that is no longer needed, you can turn them in at the Owingsville Police Department.
One of the grandparents of the child who found the pills in their Halloween candy, Sunga Copher, sent LEX 18 the following statement:
This incident upset and shocked us. Never in a million years are you expecting to find pills in your child’s Halloween candy. We took the pills to the police station to make them aware of the situation and we went public on Facebook to help make parents aware of this incident so they can thoroughly check their children’s candy. This has greatly changed our view of the community. You don’t expect to find pills in your children’s/grandchildren's candy especially in a small community such as this.
