By Hank Russell
Officers with the Suffolk County Police Department will soon be required to carry Epi-Pens once they go out on patrol, starting next year.
Suffolk County Legislator Dominick Thorne (R-Patchogue) introduced a bill last year requiring all police officers to carry epinephrine injectors in their vehicles. It passed in June 2023 and, one month later, was signed into law by then-County Executive Steve Bellone.
The county also approved the adoption of the state law called Gio’s Law, which requires all police and first responders to carry the medicine with them. Last month, Governor Kathy Hochul signed an amendment to the original 2019 law co-sponsored by state Senators Dean Murray (R-Patchogue) and Julia Salazar (D,WF-Brooklyn) and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) in which all counties outside of New York City are allowed to pass similar legislation.
“[The original law] said it only goes up to 1 million people [in one county],” Thorne said. “Well, Suffolk County has a population of 1.5 million.” Thorne said the rollout of the program should start “within 90 to 100 days.”
After signing the amendment, Hochul said in a statement, “Allergic reactions can be extremely dangerous, and seconds count to ensure treatment is administered in time to save a life,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. “With the placement of epi-pens in every Suffolk and Nassau County police car, we ensure first responders have the tools and training they need to respond rapidly in an emergency. Thank you to my partners in the Legislature for their advocacy and assistance [in] seeing this through.”
Nassau recently introduced its own legislation. As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, Nassau County Legislator Seth Koslow (D-Merrick) introduced a similar bill requiring police to carry the injectors in their patrol cars.
Epinephrine is used to treat anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction. Gio’s Law is named for Giovanni Cipriano, who was 14 when he died of a severe food allergy in 2013.
Anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially fatal allergic reaction, claims between 500 and 1,000 lives annually in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 33% of adults and 25% of children have at least one allergy, and 6% of U.S. adults and children are affected by food allergies. In New York alone, more than 218,000 students live with life-threatening food allergies, according to Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE).
Thorne cited a statistic from the National Institutes of Health that one in six people need emergency care for allergic reactions. “That number is staggering,” he said.
The legislation is personal to Thorne, who chairs the Legislative Fire, Rescue and Emergency Medical Services & Preparedness Committee. Prior to becoming a legislator, he served for 26 years as a critical care technician in a hospital. “This [law] is a way for first responders to [act] in seconds when seconds count.”