Cop Who Thought He Was Smoking Meth At The Station Accidentally Smokes Fentanyl And Almost Dies

SACRAMENTO COUNTY -- A Sacramento County patrol deputy, who was believed to have suffered a chemical exposure in 2023 and was revived by an opioid reversal drug, actually suffered from a fentanyl overdose, according to a sheriff's office internal affairs investigation.

Deputy Marvin Morales resigned from the department in February 2024, according to a letter included in the report, citing "personal reasons" amid the internal investigation.

In more than 400 pages of documents, photos, and videos the sheriff's office released the results of the internal review, including the recommendation that Morales be fired.

In August 2023, Morales confiscated a glass narcotics smoking pipe and issued a misdemeanor citation for the possession of narcotics paraphernalia. In his report, Morales lied, according to the sheriff's office findings, when he said he "safely disposed of the glass pipe at the Central Area Station."

Instead, documents say Morales admitted to keeping the pipe and smoked methamphetamine residue from the pipe at his home three to four times over the course of two months.

Morales said the use of methamphetamine "gave him the 'energy' he needed to write in-custody reports.

On October 24, 2023, Morales conducted a suspicious suspect stop and in that encounter recovered narcotics that were believed to be methamphetamine. He issued a misdemeanor citation for possession of methamphetamine to the suspect.

Hours later, Morales is seen on security camera footage at the sheriff's office Central Area Station entering a public bathroom, closed to the public at the time. Moments later, another deputy finds Morales unconscious on the floor of the bathroom in possession of the suspected meth he seized earlier the same day.

The substance initially believed to be meth was fentanyl, according to the report, and Morales was suffering a fentanyl overdose.

Deputies began life-saving measures, including issuing multiple doses of naloxone, or Narcon, before transporting Morales to the hospital.