Bellingham toddler overdoses on fentanyl; man arrested, police say

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - A Bellingham man was arrested this month after a toddler chewed on a straw used to smoke fentanyl, police said. 

On Feb. 18, officers and firefighters responded to a medical call involving an 18-month-old child at a home off McKenzie Avenue. 

According to investigators, the child was not breathing after the child held a straw that was used to smoke fentanyl. 

Medics gave the child Narcan and took the child to the emergency room for further treatment. 

Police said the child was diagnosed as having suffered a fentanyl overdose. 

The child recovered and the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Family Services took the child into protective custody. 

According to investigators, a man was sitting on a couch with the child when he realized the toddler pulled a straw out of his pocket and chewed on it. 

The man used the straw the night before and smoked fentanyl through it, police said. 

Police swabbed the straw and conducted a test, which resulted in a presumptive presence of fentanyl. 

The man was arrested and booked into the Whatcom County Jail, where he remains on no bail. 

He faces charges of third-degree assault of a child.