No criminal charges in baby’s suspected drug overdose in B.C.’s Okanagan

Naloxone is seen in injectable and nasal spray forms.

Nearly four years after emergency crews revived a baby boy with the overdose-reversing drug naloxone in B.C.’s Okanagan, prosecutors have confirmed they will not be approving criminal charges in connection with the incident.

Authorities said the one-year-old was found unconscious when RCMP officers and paramedics responded to a call at a home on Kelowna’s Lynrick Road back in August 2022.

Family members were attempting to perform CPR on the child before emergency crews arrived, administered a naloxone nasal spray and took the boy to hospital for further treatment.

Authorities later confirmed the child had made a full recovery.

Kelowna RCMP, which initially described the incident as a “possible drug overdose,” investigated and submitted a report to the B.C. Prosecution Service, which decided last month not to approve charges.

The prosecutor in charge of the case “concluded that the charge approval standard was not met,” a BCPS spokesperson said in an email statement.

“In these circumstances, not approving charges is the appropriate course of action,” the spokesperson told CTV News.

Crown prosecutors only pursue charges when they believe there’s a substantial likelihood of conviction, and that doing so is in the public interest.

“In making a charge assessment, Crown counsel must review the evidence gathered by investigators in light of the legal elements of any offence that may have been committed,” the spokesperson said.

“Counsel must also remain aware of the presumption of innocence, the prosecution’s burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and the fact that under Canadian criminal law, a reasonable doubt can arise from the evidence, the absence of evidence, inconsistencies in the evidence or the credibility or reliability of one or more of the witnesses.”

Few details about the incident have been shared with the public, including what substance the baby may have been exposed to, and how it came to happen.

At the time, Const. Mike Della-Paolera of the Kelowna RCMP told CTV News that authorities suspected “a narcotic,” but were “not 100 per cent sure.”

“It could have been tragic,” he added. “Thank goodness everything kind of came out well.”

With files from CTVNews.ca’s Kendra Mangione