DuPage Sheriff's Office First in State to Equip All Cops With EpiPens

Elmhurst resident Annie LeGere was 13 when she went into anaphylactic shock and died at a back-to-school sleepover party in August of 2015.

For nine days in the hospital, Annie fought a severe, unknown allergic reaction. She never made it to eighth grade.

August 5 of this year, the Annie LeGere Law was passed. The law permits trained police officers to carry epinephrine auto-injectors, and starting on the first day of the new year, all DuPage County sheriff’s squad cars will be equipped with EpiPens.

EpiPens are devices that deliver a quick dose of epinephrine to someone who can’t breathe due to an allergic reaction. The drug is known as the “first line of defense for anaphylaxis,” the Chicago Tribune reported.

Cops weren’t legally allowed to count EpiPens among their work equipment before the LeGere Law was passed, the Tribune reported. But since many times police officers arrive before even ambulances and EMTs make it to the scene, and seconds count with an allergic reaction, officers end up in tough situations.

Annie’s mom, Shelly LeGere, worked with Sen. Chris Nybo to pass the LeGere Law last year. April 5, she testified in front of the Senate Public Health Committee and stated a case for why police should be allowed access to EpiPens.

“Had epinephrine been available at the time that [Annie] was unable to breathe, the circumstances may be different,” she told the committee. “It could have made all the difference in the world.”

The Annie LeGere Foundation is donating $40,000 to the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, the Tribune reported. All of that money will go toward providing EpiPens for cop cars and for several first-aid kids around the county courthouse.

The DuPage County effort will be the first of its kind in the state. Col. Frank Bibbiano told the Tribune he hopes all injectors will be distributed by mid- to late January. All officers will be retrained — they learn the skill during routine first-aid training, too — in how to properly use the pens.

In the case that the entire $40K is not needed for the initiative, Bibbiano said the sheriff’s office plans to pass along leftover money to other area police departments for similar programs.

"It's important to be able to save people's lives," Bibbiano told the Tribune. "Law enforcement is in a position to help people … and we're put in that position quite frequently. It's not uncommon to get a (911) call and a squad car is right around the corner."

Shelly LeGere said it was important to keep the effort strong and alive.

"If you let things go too long, people don't remember the importance or the devastation," she told the Tribune. "Hopefully now that DuPage County sheriff's (office) is willing to take the lead, other towns will follow."

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