MTA police to carry antidotes for heroin overdoses

ALBANY -- The New York Attorney General's Office is providing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority with funds for its police officers to carry antidotes to treat heroin overdoses in emergencies.

According to both agencies, the $40,000 from civil and criminal forfeiture cases will pay for 670 kits intended to equip every officer on the MTA force, which covers the Long Island Rail Road, Metro North and the Staten Island Railway.

Kits contain two syringes and two inhalers of naloxone - also marketed under the brand name Narcan - and instructions.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says that in less than two months since establishing the reimbursement program, more than 100 law-enforcement agencies have applied to the program for the life-saving drug.