CAÑON CITY, Colo. — The Cañon City Police Department is celebrating two of its officers who worked together to save a woman’s life.

It happened on March 8.

CCPD says Officer Kyle Hance and K-9 Officer Austen Phillips were called out to Mountain View Park on N Orchard Avenue on a possible overdose. Once there, they found a woman suffering from a severe opioid-related overdose.

A person with her told the officers she’d taken “Perc 30s,” which officers say is the street name for 30 mg Percocet pills — and commonly laced with Fentanyl (although the presence of Fentanyl has not yet been confirmed in this case).

Officer Kyle Hance said, with a quick glance, he recognized the woman in danger.

“I didn’t know her personally, but through work. It was different ’cause normally, you roll up on different people and have no idea who they are,” Hance said. “I know her very well and her story.”

And the woman’s condition worsened; the officers said they saw her skin turn blue, and they couldn’t find her pulse. Hance and Phillips began to administer Narcan. Usually, only one dose is needed to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, but the officers said they didn’t see any signs of improvement until they’d used four doses.

“I hit her with the fourth dose, and she started coming through more with each dose we were administering,” Hance said.

By then, the Cañon City Fire Department and AMR Ambulance service members arrived and took the woman to the hospital.

The attending physician there said she would not have survived the trip to the hospital, much less been revived there, had the officers not taken the appropriate measures to save her.

“She actually has a chance to do better things,” Hance said. “I’m glad we were able to be there.”

And his boss felt the same.

“I am immensely proud of these two officers for their ability to work collaboratively through a life and death crisis and recognizing the need to employ advanced life-saving measures,” said CCPD Chief John Schick. 

CCPD will present Officers Hance and Phillips with the department’s Lifesaving Award.

This will be a second such award for Officer Phillips. He was given the first after saving an infant from a near-drowning accident last year.

“They and their peers protect and serve Cañon City with honor and distinction without regard to circumstances,” Schick added.