A former Clark County Fire Department EMS Captain is facing several charges after stealing vials of fentanyl.
On Christmas Eve, police were called after Christopher Burr crashed his truck into a wall near Horse Drive, in the northwest part of the valley.
When officers arrived on the scene, they found medical vials that were marked “Fentanyl Citrate” in the center console of the truck. An arrest report states that after Burr was checked by first responders to make sure he was okay, he tried to hide the vials and they were later found behind a landscaping retention wall.
Officers also found a bloody, used medical syringe in the floorboard of the truck.
The report states that Burr was given standardized field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI – Controlled Substance. Burr later agreed to have his blood drawn and officers found fentanyl, Zoloft, and a “psychoactive ingredient” called mitragynine in his system, which comes from a tropical tree called kratom that is found in Asia.
“Consumption of its leaves produces both stimulant effects (in low doses) and sedative effects (in high doses), and can lead to psychotic symptoms, and psychological and physiological dependence,” the report reads in part. “In the U.S., the abuse of kratom has increased markedly in recent years.”
While kratom is not a scheduled narcotic at this time, the DEA is evaluating it.
Burr told officials that he “passed out” for an unknown medical reason, he wasn’t intoxicated, and that he woke up in the back of a City Rescue vehicle having his vitals taken.
Police traced the five vials of fentanyl back to a secure storage room at CCFD Headquarters.
At the time, CCFD officials told police that Burr had “trusted access to controlled (DEA regulated) narcotics” and that EMS Captains, like Burr, are “assigned to obtain narcotics from the room to provide them to EMS ambulances for field use on citizens in medical crisis.”
When narcotics are past their expiration date, the drugs are stored inside a cabinet inside the storage room.
During a CCFD interview with Burr, staff asked Burr how many times a week an EMS Captain would need access to the narcotics room and he replied “multiple times a week but that it changes day-to-day”. When they spoke with other EMS Captains, they stated the room would typically only be accessed once a week. When Burr was told this, the report states that Burr said a cyber key lock and key to the room “may be malfunctioning.”
In an interview with a different CCFD official, Burr allegedly said that he has a had a problem with substance abuse in the past and that substance abuse runs in his family.
Following Burr’s arrest, CCFD staff did an audit of the storage room and found that “more than 600 vials of narcotics were discovered to be missing.” When CCFD officials asked Burr if he had any explanation as to why they were missing from the room, he said no and that he wasn’t aware of anyone else taking them.
Burr was charged with misconduct of a public officer and burglary of a business.
According to court records, Burr is scheduled to be back in court on June 12.
Clark County says Burr is no longer employed by the county and the the Clark County Fire Department is in the process of making changes to their controlled substance policy.
I also reached out to LVMPD to see if there is an update on the missing fentanyl vials. As of the time this article was published, we have not heard back.