“I had advised him at that time that I had done my own legal research and had consulted with a number of municipal law attorneys and come to the conclusion that although I believe my proposal might be legal, if we move forward and adopt we’re exposing the city to some rather significant, protracted and expensive litigation,” Picard said.
He said the point of his proposal was to help the city with its financial situation.
“So moving forward with that proposal, which would result in even greater expenditures and legal fees and so on, just doesn’t make sense,” he said. “So at this time, I’m going to announce that I am not moving forward with that proposal and we’ll have to seek other alternatives.”
He said one thing that came out of his proposal was the worldwide discussion of this issue and creating certain degrees of awareness of the problems involved that may lead to some resolution.
Picard said he received the opinion of the city’s Law Department late Friday morning, but he and city officials declined to comment on what it said, citing attorney/client privilege.
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The proposal has created a firestorm as many law enforcement agencies in Butler County do not equip their personnel with Narcan to revive a person who may have overdosed on an opioid. On Saturday and on Tuesday, groups protested at the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Richard K. Jones said that its good that people with different viewpoints can peacefully protest, but he isn’t about to change his mind equipping his deputies with Narcan.
Middletown Mayor Larry Mulligan said one group has contacted him to set up a meeting and that City Manager Doug Adkins will meet with them.
Only the Miami University Police Department equips its officers with Narcan and the Ohio Highway Patrol are the only law enforcement agencies in Butler County that equip their officers with Narcan.
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