Greensburg Daily News: White House Praises Massachusetts Chief for Compassion Toward Addicts

WASHINGTON - Behind his decision to begin an innovative program that encourages addicts to seek treatment, said Leonard Campanello, police chief in Gloucester, Massachusetts, was an awareness of his own fallibility.

Campanello acknowledged at a ceremony where he was honored by the White House that he struggled last year in a decision to allow addicts to come to the city's police station - bringing their drugs and paraphernalia - without fear of arrest.

The impulse of a police officer, especially a former narcotics detective, is to arrest people for breaking the law, he said.

But as a "flawed person who desires compassion," Campanello said he reasoned that he should "show it to others."\

Campanello, who was recognized with nine others for work attacking heroin and opioid abuse, emphasized the point with a bit of self-deprecating humor during a panel discussion at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House.

"The reality is, I'm at least in the Top 10 of flawed people in this room, if not to the Top 3," he said, drawing laughs.

Under Gloucester's "Angels" program, addicts who come to police seeking treatment may turn over any remaining drugs or paraphernalia without facing arrest for drug possession or other charges.

Volunteers are paired with the addicts to help guide them toward treatment.

The program has shepherded more than 400 people into treatment programs, and it has been picked up in various forms by more than 40 other police departments from Massachusetts to Illinois.

Obama administration officials praised Campanello for changing the role of law enforcement to go beyond locking up addicts.

Campanello decided police in his seaside city "should stop arresting people with addictions and start assisting them," said Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell during a ceremony.

Now, when addicts approach police, she said, "help is what they get."\

She said of Campanello and others honored by the White House that despite a devastating toll of drug abuse in the country, "I find hope in this room."\

The ten people honored as "Champions of Change," who've created substance abuse treatment and anti-drug programs, were selected from 900 nominees from throughout the country.

Campanello was nominated by the New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area organization, an arm of the U.S. Justice Department's drug intelligence agency.

Among others honored was Justin Phillips, who began a non-profit in Indiana after her 20-year old son died of a heroin overdose.

The group, Overdose Lifeline Inc., created a network for families affected by opioid use and helped distribute the overdose-reversal drug naloxone to first-responders.

The idea of not arresting addicts who violate the law has been criticized by some, including Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, who nevertheless has praised the intent of the Angel's program.

A spokeswoman for Blodgett declined comment on Friday.

Campanello deflected attention from himself.

"I don't consider myself a champion of anything," he said.

Instead, he praised the citizens of the fishing community north of Boston, in a region that has been ravaged by the effects of prescription opioid and heroin abuse.

The idea for the program was inspired at community meetings held after 11 people died from overdoses in 2014, followed by another four in the beginning of 2015.

"We simply listened to the community that we do not want people suffering from addictions to face further stigma," he said.

It was also apparent that the war on drugs wasn't accomplishing anything.

"If you're going to do the same things, you're going to get the same result," he said.

A cultural shift has accompanied the program within the police department, Campanello said, and there's now a recognition, "We're in a position to help."\

After stepping past a fence surrounding the White House grounds on Friday, Campanello said he hopes the Obama administration's endorsement of the program will spur other law enforcement agencies to broaden their view.

In addition to recognition he received at the White House, Campanello was praised by members of the state's congressional delegation.

"For far too long, we have treated opioid addiction as a crime, punishing those battling addiction and shaming patients and the families of those who seek treatment. Chief Leonard Campanello has been at the forefront of changing this approach," Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton said in a written statement.

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