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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

Assault charges dropped for suspect who allegedly threw drugs during arrest, ‘exposing’ several officers

A small bag of straight fentanyl on display at the State Crime Lab at the Ohio Attorney General's headquarters of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation in 2015. Nebraska police say they seized 118 pounds of fentanyl in April.
The Washington Post
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The Washington Post/Getty Images
A small bag of straight fentanyl on display at the State Crime Lab at the Ohio Attorney General's headquarters of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation in 2015. Nebraska police say they seized 118 pounds of fentanyl in April.

In early January, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office announced it was “shocked and appalled” after an alleged drug dealer “exposed a Detective and two deputies to a dangerous opioid drug,” sending the officers to the hospital. The suspect was charged with four counts of assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon — but three months later those charges were dropped, after one of the officers said it hadn’t been an intentional act.

On January 6 of this year, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office sent a press release, describing how, during an arrest, Lewis Rudolph Brown Drayton, 37, had “attempted to throw drugs out of his vehicle,” exposing an unnamed Detective and two unnamed deputies.

According to NHCSO, “the Detective, who lost conscious was immediately administered Narcan, he and the two other Deputies were taken to a local hospital where they were treated and later released.”

The arrest came following a joint investigation by NHCSO, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI.

At the time, NHCSO noted that Lewis and Charmaine Inez Cuttino, 24, had “been taken into custody and are being held on multiple felony charges, including assault with a deadly weapon on a government official.”

According to court records, Lewis faced four of those assault charges, along with a host of drug and drug-trafficking charges. Cuttino wasn’t charged with assault but she also faced trafficking and possession charges.

During his first appearance in court, a prosecutor argued that Lewis “intentionally opened a bag of drugs and threw it in the detective’s face,” according to WECT.

But that story didn’t hold up, and court records also show that the felony assault charges were dismissed on April 18 when one of the officers taken to the hospital contradicted it.

“These assaultive charges were taken out entirely on the belief that the defendant threw the drugs in a targeted manner at the officer who therefore had to be taken to the emergency room. However, once the officer was able to be interviewed, that officer told investigators that the defendant appeared to not be aiming the drugs at that officer,” the court record reads.

From New Hanover County criminal court records.
Ben Schachtman
From New Hanover County criminal court records.

NHCSO confirmed it was the detective who was interviewed, in April, several months after the incident. Because there are related charges still pending, District Attorney Ben David declined to comment.

Exaggerated fentanyl fears

NHCSO didn’t specify what type of opioid was involved, but many on social media assumed it was fentanyl; because it is upward of 50 times stronger than heroin, it's played a lead role in an ever-growing number of 'exposure overdose' stories.

But experts maintain that overdose from airborne exposure is unlikely. And while they recommend safety procedures like wearing gloves and washing your hands, those experts say the real risk is in creating an unwarranted narrative that could discourage people from providing first aid to someone experiencing an overdose — and in creating additional, and unnecessary, fear and stress for law enforcement officers.

Over the last several years, that fear has grown into something of a moral panic over fentanyl exposure in the ranks of law enforcement.

Some of this can be traced back to 2017, when the DEA put out a message to all law enforcement agencies, warning officers that even limited exposure to very small amounts of fentanyl could prove harmful or fatal. The problem is, science doesn't back the DEA's warning up — and the DEA later took its message down (it still lives on, though, on the Department of Justice website and YouTube).

But the sentiment took hold in local police departments and sheriffs' offices. Since then, there's been a host of videos, shared by law enforcement and picked up by news outlets, that seem to show officers overdosing after being exposed to fentanyl, often without pushback or contextualization from journalists.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify which officer was interviewed and when.

Related stories about fentanyl and law enforcement:

Original press release:

MEDIA RELEASE

Issued: January 6, 2023

For Immediate Release

Detective Exposed to Deadly Drug

New Hanover County Sheriff's Office is shocked and appalled after a drug dealer exposed a Detective and two Deputies to a dangerous opioid drug. Yesterday, Detectives from the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office along with the SBI, and FBI Safe Streets conducted a drug investigation on I 40 eastbound. The investigation led to the arrest of Lewis Rudolph Brown Drayton, a 37 year old male and Charmaine Inez Cuttino a 24 year old female. During the arrest, Drayton attempted to throw drugs out of his vehicle, in the process, exposing two Detectives and a Deputy to a powerful and highly addictive opioid drug. The Detective, who lost conscious was immediately administered Narcan, he and the two other Deputies were taken to a local hospital where they were treated and later released. Drayton and Cuttino have been taken into custody and are being held on multiple felony charges, including assault with a deadly weapon on a government official. The investigation is still ongoing, and more details will be released as they become available. This incident serves as a reminder of the dangers of drug dealing and the importance of taking appropriate precautions when dealing with individuals suspected of such activities.

Ben Schachtman is a journalist and editor with a focus on local government accountability. He began reporting for Port City Daily in the Wilmington area in 2016 and took over as managing editor there in 2018. He’s a graduate of Rutgers College and later received his MA from NYU and his PhD from SUNY-Stony Brook, both in English Literature. He loves spending time with his wife and playing rock'n'roll very loudly. You can reach him at BSchachtman@whqr.org and find him on Twitter @Ben_Schachtman.