{"id":192603,"date":"2026-02-25T05:48:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T05:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/192603\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T05:48:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T05:48:22","slug":"soon-after-giving-narcan-to-suspect-chp-officer-died-from-ingesting-fentanyl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/192603\/","title":{"rendered":"Soon after giving Narcan to suspect, CHP officer died from ingesting fentanyl"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Shortly after administering Narcan to a DUI suspect experiencing a possible overdose, CHP Officer Miguel Cano started to feel unwell, swerved his patrol car into a tree and was killed. His sudden death<\/a> left many questions unanswered. <\/p>\n

On Monday, one piece of the puzzle was revealed \u2014 his cause of death was ruled an accident due to the effects of fentanyl, according to the L.A. County medical examiner.<\/p>\n

But exactly how Cano ingested a lethal amount of fentanyl remains unclear. A spokesperson for the CHP said that, out of respect for Cano\u2019s family and the integrity of the review process, the agency was refraining from commenting until it had \u201cthoroughly examined\u201d the medical examiner\u2019s report. <\/p>\n

Cano, a 34-year-old from Moreno Valley, had been driving in Culver City around 12:30 a.m. on July 2 when he suffered a medical emergency resulting in a crash, according to a July statement from the California Highway Patrol.<\/p>\n

He and his partner had just taken a DUI suspect into custody, and the three of them were driving to the nearby West L.A. CHP office. The suspect was also allegedly in possession of a firearm, possible cocaine and drug paraphernalia.<\/p>\n

Fearing the suspect could be overdosing, Cano had administered Narcan, a nasal spray that reverses the effects of opioids. While en route to the office, Cano told his partner he didn\u2019t feel well.<\/p>\n

Their vehicle went off the roadway and struck a tree. Cano was rushed to UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead around 1:40 a.m. The suspect and the other officer survived the crash without severe injury. <\/p>\n

In July, the CHP said that the agency\u2019s accident investigation team was leading a probe into the incident but that investigators had already ruled out a possible exposure to drugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not think this was an exposure to drugs,\u201d CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said in July. \u201cThe other officer and the subject did not experience any signs or symptoms related to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fentanyl is an incredibly potent synthetic opioid that can be fatal in very small doses. However, a person cannot be killed simply by coming into physical contact with the substance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a common misconception that fentanyl can be absorbed through the skin, but it is not true for casual exposure,\u201d according to Dr. Daniel Colby<\/a>, co-medical director for the Department of Emergency Medicine at UC Davis Health. \u201cThe one case in which fentanyl can be absorbed through the skin is with a special doctor-prescribed fentanyl skin patch, and even then, it takes hours of exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colby said it is important for people to understand that fentanyl cannot be absorbed through contact, so that they are not fearful to intervene when witnessing an overdose. <\/p>\n

\u201cPausing or waiting for other people to arrive means that person might die,\u201d he said. \u201cThey need our help and it is safe to help them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cano\u2019s death was the first line-of-duty death for the CHP since 2020. Gov. Gavin Newsom called the death \u201ca heartbreaking loss for the state and the California Highway Patrol.\u201d The officer graduated from the CHP Academy in 2023 and was survived by his wife and parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are devastated by the loss of Officer Cano, who gave his life while serving the people of California,\u201d said Duryee at the time of Cano\u2019s death. \u201cHis dedication, courage and commitment to public safety will never be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n

Times staff writer Jasmine Mendez contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shortly after administering Narcan to a DUI suspect experiencing a possible overdose, CHP Officer Miguel Cano started to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":192604,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2640,7,9,8,90202,852,22574,350,42425,81309,2877,15450,13260,5679,81489,90203,592,83712],"class_list":{"0":"post-192603","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-a-m","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-california-headlines","11":"tag-california-news","12":"tag-cano","13":"tag-chp","14":"tag-chp-officer","15":"tag-crash","16":"tag-drug-paraphernalia","17":"tag-dui-suspect","18":"tag-effect","19":"tag-exposure","20":"tag-fentanyl","21":"tag-july","22":"tag-narcan","23":"tag-other-officer","24":"tag-people","25":"tag-sudden-death"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192603\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}