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Ohio Police Chief Dies After ODing on Drugs Taken From Evidence Room

Cop had deadly dose of fentanyl.

An Ohio police chief who died of a fentanyl overdose is believed to have taken the drugs from his department’s evidence room. Kirkersville Police Chief James Hughes Jr., 35, was found unresponsive in the bathroom of his Reynoldsburg home, near Columbus, on May 25 and was pronounced dead a short time later. Investigators say they’re still looking into exactly what happened, but the way the drugs were labeled suggested that the police chief obtained the deadly drugs from his evidence room. Reynoldsburg Police Department Lt. Ron Wright said: “There was packaging that indicated that he was taking controlled substances from there.” Wright said when his department closes the case he plans to contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office about the alleged malpractice at Kirkersville. “It’s kind of gone beyond our level. You’re talking about another agency’s property room,” he said. “We think the state should probably intervene.”