I joke with friends that my blood pressure goes up 20 points after driving just five minutes in New Bedford. Drivers tend to always be on their phone, tailgate, cut you off, run through red lights, distracted with their phone and now the latest … drivers overdosing on heroin behind the wheel.

Three people overdosed behind the wheel while driving this week in New Bedford.

First, a 26-year old New Bedford man overdosed on heroin while driving on Hathaway Street and struck a parked car around 7am Tuesday morning.

About 12 hours later, a 48-year old New Bedford man overdosed while driving near the intersection of Hazard Street and Purchase Street.

According to the Standard Times, the third overdose “occurred shortly before 11 a.m. at the exit from the Kings Plaza shopping center onto Kings Highway in the city’s North End. The driver was behind the wheel and in the middle of the exit when he overdosed.”

Fortunately, Narcan was used to save them, unless the drivers get treatment we can expect them the repeat the dangerous habit of getting behind the wheel high. In my Narcan Butterfly Effect article, I discussed the effect on society when we keep using Narcan to save overdose victims, but don’t require them to seek treatment.

It’s not just overdosing drivers that create headlines. Also, this week a New Bedford fire truck and New Bedford police vehicle were involved in accidents due to other drivers blasting through red lights.

On Thursday night, a female driver hit a parked car on Chancery Street in New Bedford and flipped the vehicle onto another parked car just after 11pm.

While there are bad drivers everywhere, it seems to be more of an adventure driving through the streets of New Bedford. I’m a firm believer that vehicles in America are more dangerous than guns and this trend will only increase as more and more addicts, addicted to drugs and smart phones, get behind the wheel.

This opinion piece was sent to us by a concerned reader who wished to share her opinion on an alternative to Narcan that she and her group have had success with. Because of the sensitive nature of the topic and the all too common backlash for just about any topic, she wished to remain anonymous.

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In the wake of all the recent overdoses and the Narcan being administered to revive so many opioid addicted individuals, I wonder if more people were aware of the Vivitrol shot.

Do they want to get clean but feel scared and know how bad the withdrawals can be? These people would want to learn more information about Vivitrol and maybe this would educate those individuals and help them reach their goal of being sober.

There is such a lack of information about this shot out there and I know if more people knew about it, there would be far less drug addicted individuals. The Vititrol.com website is amazingly informative.

The Vivitrol shot is covered by many insurances. The shot is once per month in the buttocks area. It is NON-ADDICTIVE and, therefore, when the sober individual decides they are confident that they no longer need it, they can stop the shot with no repercussions.

On a side note, if the individual cannot afford the shot (which is the best alternative), there is the pill form of it (Naltrexone) and it is extremely iaffordable. Again, the only drawback is that the person can just stop the pill if they feel like it, but obviously, cannot stop the effects of the month long shot absorbed in their body. Either way, it is a tool in the road to recovery.

It works by blocking the pleasure receptors in the brain and therefore, an addict can shoot up the heroin or take the pills, but they won’t get high. If they try to “overdo it” and take an overload of the drugs, there is a good chance they can overdose just the same because the body absorbs it, but they don’t get the pleasure of the high. This is what causes many to be so successful with the shot.

The cravings almost immediately go away and people can lead a happy, healthy, productive life. Just think: once per month (that is 12x per year!) they get the shot and learn to heal. The side effects are minimal to none – of course each individual is different from the other. The one “drawback” that people have is that they MUST be clean for 7-10 days before they can get the shot and if on Suboxone, they must be clean for 10-14 days before getting the shot.

A wonderful option is in-patient withdrawal with comfort medications and support, and many facilities will now administer it before they even walk out the door. I am part of a group here on Facebook called “Vivitrol Treatment” and I beg that people join and hear from other addicts who stopped the drugs cold turkey because they desperately wanted to get clean, but didn’t know where to turn and TODAY. All of them are sober due to the Vivitrol shot.

The group is an amazing support system and extremely informative. I apologize for the long-winded message, but I feel so confident that if more people knew about the Vivitrol shot, they too would jump on that bandwagon to a sober, long, wonderful life!

Thank you so much for reading this and hopefully people will join the group and/or look up Vivitrol.com and make themselves familiar with the shot and all of its benefits and help the heroin epidemic slow down a bit. One sober person is one less potential death.

According to New Bedford’s mayor Jon Mitchell crime is down 10% in New Bedford. While I’m sure the statistics are accurate, a lot of people find it hard to believe. My guess is that when crime is so high, a 10% drop really isn’t that noticeable, especially for those that still live in high crime areas.

Let’s look at some of the data available to the public. According to city-data.com, in 2013, there were 6 murders, 100 rapes, 256 robberies, 677 assaults, 916 burglaries, 2,186 thefts, 335 auto thefts and 20 arsons in New Bedford. That’s roughly a rape every 3 days, 2 assaults a day and a car stolen every day. Looking even deeper into the numbers, New Bedford has three times the violent crime rate (632 rating vs. 203 rating) than the average U.S. city and those numbers have been consistent for a decade.

Why is does New Bedford have high crime and how can we reduce crime even more than 10%? In order to come up with solutions you need to know the problems.

1. Secret City: No Snitching

One of the biggest issues facing New Bedford is the ‘no snitching’ narrative that rules many New Bedford neighborhoods. Look, I get it. If you are a mobster and your fellow mobster gets pinched by the Feds and then snitches to get a reduced sentence, he’s a snitch or a rat. That’s snitching and the snitch deserves to get whacked. But if you see a person committing a crime and you don’t call the police because you “ain’t no snitch” then you are the #1 problem with New Bedford. You are worse than a snitch; a coward. Reporting crime is not snitching, it’s alerting the good guys about the bad guys and taking care of your neighbor.

Even more disappointing, attacking people as snitches for reporting crime happens very often in New Bedford. Not reporting crime and labeling those that do as a snitch is a great way to ensure all the good people on your street and city move somewhere else. Then you’ll be surrounded by fellow ‘no snitchers’ who could care less about you.

Solution: Stop acting like you are in the mob and report crime. Stop punishing others that report crime. Take back your neighborhood and push out the criminals on your street. Sending them to prison is a great way to do that.

2. Weak Judges

Spend 10 minutes in a New Bedford court room and you just might have a stroke. Criminals with long rap sheets are being released back onto the streets by judges. Most of the crime in New Bedford is committed by repeat offenders. The police do an excellent job catching criminals and the judges do an even better job at freeing them.

For example, a New Bedford man with 7 outstanding warrants was arrested recently with a .357 revolver, a semi-automatic handgun and over 100 rounds of ammunition. He did not possess a license to carry a firearm. The Bristol County District Attorney asked for a $10,000 bail, but the judge lowered it to $3,000. If a man with a history of not showing up to court gets such a low bail, what do you think these judges are setting bail for other offenders committing lesser crimes? Even when these criminals are successfully prosecuted they are seeing low prison sentences and then being released back into the public.

Solution: Hold judges accountable. Push District Attorneys and state legislators to be tougher on crime. Follow local sentencing and call your elected officials when outrageous sentencing occurs. Apathy is almost as bad as not reporting crime.

3. Drugs, drugs and more drugs

In 2013, Joshua Silva, a man living in New Bedford and a known heroin user, brutally murdered 69-year-old Joyce Howland, a retired school teacher living in Fairhaven. Brutal really doesn’t really describe the murder well. Then Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter stated that her spine was fractured and her head was nearly severed from her body. She was found lying face down in her bedroom on a blood-soaked area rug. Joshua Silva murdered her for some jewelry that he later pawned for cash. Joyce Howland’s life was cut short so a heroin user could score some drugs. The Standard Times published a thorough article on the case here.

While most heroin addicts are not killing people for drugs, they are breaking into cars and homes, shoplifting and committing other crimes. When one user overdoses, they cost tax payers thousands of dollars as police, fire, EMTs and hospitals provide services. Then they are released back into society to repeat using drugs, cost tax payers millions and commit crimes.

Solution: Lower the heroin abuse in New Bedford and you will lower crime and save lives. How do you do that? Arrest the doctors that over prescribe opioids, pass legislation that forces addicts to get help and lock up the drug dealers.

Stay tuned for part 2 where I tackle importing people with criminal records, absentee landlords and lack of parenting/community.

What do you think New Bedford has high crime? Post a reply!

As a result of a month long narcotics investigation the Mattapoisett Police Department executed multiple search warrants resulting in the arrest of John Decosta Jr, age 28, of 1 Driscoll Lane in Mattapoisett.

During the investigation Narcotics Officers observed Decosta engage in multiple hand-to-hand drug transactions. In addition, Narcotics Officers conducted multiple controlled purchases of Fentanyl from Decosta over the past month.

Fentanyl is a potent opioid that is approximately 80-100 times more potent than morphine and approximately 40-50 times more potent than heroin. Fentanyl has been linked to many of the overdoses throughout the Southcoast.

The search warrants produced 8.5 grams of Fentanyl, 29 Percocet 30 mg pills, 80 Methadone Pills, Anabolic Steroids, scales, packaging material, and 18 shotgun shells. Officers seized $6,788.00 in US currency and a 2012 Chevy Malibu.

John Decosta was subsequently charged with possession with the intent to distribute a class “B” substance (Fentanyl), possession with the intent to distribute a class “B” substance (Percocet), possession with the intent to distribute a class “B” substance (methadone), possession of a class “C” substance (steroids), and possession of ammunition without an FID card.

Detectives from the South Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (SEMLEC) Detectives Unit assisted with the investigation. These departments consisted of Wareham, Marion, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Somerset, Swansea and Seekonk Police Departments. In addition, Seekonk Police K-9 assisted with the search. This collaborative effort enabled the Mattapoisett Police Department to conduct a thorough investigation across jurisdictional boundaries.

Anyone with information involving illegal drugs can leave an anonymous tip @ 508-758-2211 or drugtips@mattapoisettpolice.com

There is a debate that rages on social media every time Narcan comes up; do you save heroin users with Narcan or let them die? Should medical professionals be reviving heroin addicts multiple times? Ten times? There were several car accidents recently in New Bedford involving overdoses, one involving an innocent man who was crushed by an SUV while unloading his van.

Just this month a Weymouth firefighter was suspended for 90 days over a Facebook post against using Narcan to save addicts. Here is what he posted:

Many people believe that Narcan allows addicts to take risks knowing that they will be revived should they overdose. Police in Massachusetts are even finding used Narcan kits in drug dealers’ homes.

Eight used Narcan kits were found in the Davidson Ave. apartment. Marhefka reportedly told police that she had dispensed the Narcan to users who overdosed in her apartment. Two unopened kits and more than 100 dirty syringes were also found at the apartment.

Most people are compassionate and believe in saving drug abusers unlimited times, or until they get help. You will hear frequently, “If it was your son, daughter, brother or sister, you’d change your tune and want to save them.”

While saving addicts is a must, there is a Butterfly Effect on society.

First, there is a high cost associated with saving a person overdosing. Not only does Narcan cost the taxpayers in Massachusetts millions of dollars annually, it costs thousands of dollars every time emergency personnel arrive on the scene and save an overdosing person. When a person overdoses and someone calls 911, you will generally see police, fire and EMS personnel arrive on the scene to save the person. Additionally, if fire, police and EMS are responding to overdosing victims then resources are not only strained, they may not be available for another emergency like a fire, heart attack or care accident.

Second, overdosing victims are not only a danger to themselves, they can be a danger to the public should they overdose while driving a car. This past weekend a man overdosed while driving a Ford F250, hitting and snapping a utility pole. Medics arrived, administered Narcan and saved the mans life.

Last month a man seriously injured another man reportedly on the way to a methadone clinic. He was speeding down Bellville Avenue and likely passed out at the wheel colliding with a parked van, crushing one man between his SUV and the van. A second man near the van was also injured. The first victim was hurt so bad that he needed to be evacuated by helicopter to a Rhode Island hospital. The driver of the vehicle was overheard saying that he was on his way to a methadone clinic downtown.

While Narcan is a great tool to bring overdosing people back to life, there are consequences that the rest of society must deal with, especially when overdose victims are allowed back on the street the same day. Yes, addicts overdosing are brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, but what if you save a man from overdosing and that man then cripples or kills your loved one who was simply trying to unload tools out of his/her work van? In Massachusetts, thousands of people are being saved with Narcan each year; good or bad, this has caused and will cause a Butterfly Effect that we all have to deal with.

What do you think? Is Narcan a good or bad thing for our community? Is there a limit to how many times Narcan should be used on the same patient? Or unlimited use?

With several hours to go in the current year, Massachusetts State Police have investigated 64 homicides across the state in 2015. State troopers, who investigate homicides in the vast majority of Massachusetts communities with the assistance of local police, have solved 47 of those, for a 73 percent clearance rate. The homicides run the full gamut of circumstances, from outdoor shootings at all times of day or night in urban areas to domestic homicides inside residences and those with a variety of other fact patterns.

State Police have jurisdiction over homicides in every city and town in Massachusetts except for Boston, Worcester, Springfield and Pittsfield (whose local departments handle their own death investigations). The homicide totals per county were as follow:

•Essex County, 15;
•Middlesex County, 12;
•Plymouth County, 11;
•Bristol County, 9;
•Suffolk County, 5 (not including Boston);
•Worcester County, 4 (not including city of Worcester);
•Cape and Islands, 3;
•Hampden County, 3 (not including Springfield);
•Norfolk County, 2.

Also this year, State Police detectives have responded to 755 fatal suspected heroin overdoses. Official cause of death in these cases is determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, but State Police classify them as suspected heroin overdoses because of evidence found at the scene, including drug paraphernalia, or statements of witnesses who were with the deceased immediately prior to death. Of the 755 suspected fatal heroin overdoses, 591 victims were male, 164, female. The average age of the victims was approximately 36 years. As with the homicide investigations, state troopers respond to all unattended deaths in every community in Massachusetts except Boston, Worcester, Springfield and Pittsfield, underlying the fact that the problem of heroin addiction knows no geographic boundaries. State Police narcotics units continued to conduct numerous significant drug interdiction operations throughout the past year, ranging from street-level arrests to long-term investigations that dismantled sophisticated drug trafficking organizations.

Of those 755 suspected overdose deaths, the county breakdown is as follows:

•Middlesex County, 142;
•Essex County, 130;
•Bristol County, 108;
•Plymouth County, 94;
•Norfolk County, 88;
•Worcester County, 68 (not including city of Worcester);
•Cape and Islands, 41;
•Hampden County, 37 (not including Springfield);
•Suffolk County, 23 (not including Boston);
•Hampshire/Franklin Counties, 18;
•Berkshire County, 6 (not including Pittsfield).

Also thus far in 2015, State Police have made 3,865 arrests of drivers operating under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. Interdiction of impaired operators has always been a core mission of the State Police. The vast majority of OUI arrests were made by road troopers assigned to 39 barracks across the state, and during sobriety checkpoints held on many weekend nights.

The State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (VFAS) has cleared approximately 4,050 criminal warrants in 2015. Among those were more than 2,760 arrests of wanted suspects, registrations of sex offenders, or locates of suspects in other states. Of the arrests, VFAS troopers have apprehended 45 people on murder warrants this year (including seven in December alone). VFAS troopers have also seized 27 guns and made dozens of narcotics seizures as well.

Some other statistics from 2015 are below:

•The State Police Air Wing has flown 1,306 missions in 2015, including routine patrols, searches for fleeing suspects or missing persons, and overflight support for security at large-scale events and critical incidents;
The State Police K-9 Section has deployed on 3,113 missions, including tracks of fleeing suspects or missing persons, evidence searches, and patrol and security activities;

•The State Police Underwater Recovery Unit has deployed 240 times, including rescue and recovery dives, evidentiary searches, and security sweeps;

•The State Police Special Tactical Operations Team (STOP Team) deployed for 191 missions, including tactical entries for high risk arrests and search warrants, barricaded armed suspects, and various security operations. The STOP Team also continued its training of local and university police departments throughout Massachusetts in how to respond to active shooter incidents, training 1,489 police personnel from 33 other agencies in 2015.

The missions by the Air Wing, K-9 Section, STOP Team, and Underwater Recovery Unit were in support of State Police incidents and cases and also in support of numerous local police departments.

Additionally, a new class of State Police recruits began intensive physical, academic, and procedural training at the department’s Academy in New Braintree this past fall. The nearly 160 trainees will graduate in April.

“I am extremely proud of the strong work done by the members of the Massachusetts State Police throughout the past year,” stated Colonel Richard D. McKeon, superintendent of department. “The men and women of this department worked around the clock, every day and night, to protect the lives, safety and property of everyone who lives, works and travels through our state. I thank them profusely. We embrace our responsibility to do it all over again in 2016.”

The Department of State Police marked its 150th anniversary in 2015. The agency that would grow into the State Police, the State Constabulary, was established in 1865, several weeks after the end of the Civil War. Many of the department’s first officers were Union Army veterans.

The New Bedford Health Department, in collaboration with the towns of Dartmouth, Marion, Rochester, and Wareham, was awarded a $550,000 grant by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to establish the Opioid Prevention Coalition – South Coast, a regional collaboration aimed at making policy, systems, and environmental changes that will reduce the use of opioids and decrease the number of deaths and hospitalizations due to opioid misuse.

The project will leverage existing capacity and resources in opioid prevention, including the City’s nasal Narcan pilot program and school-based health curricula, and expand these efforts to build regional capacity in the participating communities. Seven Hills Behavioral Health, which has played a key role in several city-wide efforts in opioid prevention, will work with the Health Department as a consultant on this program.

“This funding is much-needed and very timely,” says Director of the New Bedford Health Department, Brenda Weis. “The increased use of opioids across the state and region has been well documented in recent years. Just last year, outgoing Governor Deval Patrick declared it a public health emergency, and newly elected Attorney General Maura Healey has identified this issue as a top priority.”

“Like many other people, I’ve had friends and I’ve had one family member who’ve had these issues and frankly died from overdoses. It is difficult and painful and you’d be hard pressed to find anybody who hasn’t been touched by this in some way,” said Mayor Jon Mitchell.

“Ignoring the problem is not a viable option for any community and that’s why this coalition is so important. We are coming together to grab hold of the issue, and take the necessary steps to save people’s lives and get them into treatment,” he continued.
The coalition will begin by assessing the current programs and policies in each town to understand resources and gaps, and then move onto building a framework that creates effective and sustainable policies, systems, and environmental changes.

The New Bedford Health Department is committed to promoting and protecting the health of New Bedford residents by upholding important regulations and implementing innovative health and wellness programming.

Here are New Bedford Guide’s top stories this week from our website or Facebook page. Click on the bold title to read the original story.

1. New Bedford High School Teen Charged with Assault on Teacher – The top story of the week was 18-year old New Bedford High School student Kemar Roselus losing his cool, throwing a chair and eventually being charged by police. The sad part is the teacher Joanne Muara has decided to quit her job as a teacher at the end of the year. Kemar was eventually expelled from NBHS on Friday. Facebook discussion here and here. Original video here.
2. New Bedford Flood – On March 30th, New Bedford experienced some MAJOR flooding. Route 18 and several other major roads were flooded. Users submitted dozens of amazing photos here. This video gives you an idea of the flooding.
3. Beckham Plans New Bedford Soccer Stadium – Our April Fool’s Day hoax was that David Beckham planned to build a soccer stadium in New Bedford. The women of New Bedford rejoiced and then turned into an angry mob once they found at that David Beckham wasn’t going to run around New Bedford without a shirt.
4. New Bedford Guide’s Best Portuguese Restaurants – A discussion that may have ended friendships! New Bedford Guide readers voted on their favorite local Portuguese restaurants. 27 restaurants got at least two votes with Antonio’s finishing at the top spot.
5. Several Cars Placed on Milk Crates and Tires Stolen – Several cars this week had their tires stolen and seems to be a growing trend. Photos here and here and here.
6. Local woman’s story of family hardship and addiction – Addiction has become a major problem in the south coast, MA area as this year Bristol County finished in the top spot for drug overdoses. Jane Doe shared her personal story how she lost her kids to a man with addiction.
7. 2014 Whaling City Festival is a GO! – For weeks now the Whaling City Festival has been in the news. The organizers decided not to organize the festival this year due the 8 p.m. closing time. City Councilors and Mayor Jon Mitchell acted quickly and the Park Board this week unanimously voted to give the organizers a 9 p.m. closing time with stipulations on a trial basis.
8. Doing What’s Right For Our Elephants – Keith Lovett, the Director of Buttonwood Park Zoo, submitted an article providing an official stance on the elephant situation at the Zoo.
9. New Bedford’s Shawmut Diner to Close on March 31st, 2014 – After more than 30 years in business, the Paleologos family finally closed down the diner on March 31st, 2014. They sold the location to Cumberland Farms. Photos of the last day at the diner here.
10. Bill Murray Gets Dave Letterman to Mention New Bedford – He got Dave to say, “Special hello to Kevin, Rudy and Frank at Maaco in New Bedford.” Then Bill replied, “Thanks, they’re not going to charge me for the primer.” Apparently, he visits New Bedford from time to time from Martha’s Vineyard.  Video and chat here.