Police in Westfield, New Jersey charged a middle school art teacher last week after an incident where the 57-year-old man passed out due to a fentanyl overdose in front of a class of students he was teaching, NBC News reports.
Frank Thompson, an art teacher at Roosevelt Intermediate School, collapsed in November while teaching class. The school resource officer on site recognized the signs of an overdose and injected Thompson with Narcan, an opioid overdose treatment, which greatly improved his condition until he could be treated by medical personnel arriving on scene.
Following the incident, police searching the scene found a substance they believed to be an illegal drug, as well as drug paraphernalia, in a classroom closet. The substance was tested and found to be fentanyl. Thompson is facing drug and child endangerment charges. A press release from the Westfield Police did not explain why it took more than a month to charge Thompson or if he was still teaching at the school.