Police release photos of couple ‘overdosed on heroin’ – as boy, 4, sits on backseat

A police force in the US has released a series of photos in which a couple lie unconscious in the front of a car after a suspecter heroin overdose while a small child sits on the seats behind.

The City of East Liverpool, in Ohio, posted the images to their Facebook page to ‘show the other side of this horrible drug’.

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The force said it wanted to highlight a heroin ‘epidemic’ sweeping across the state.

‘The city administration works hand in hand with our men in blue to combat this epidemic and together with the law director we have made the decision to release the attached,’ the post reads.

‘We feel it necessary to show the other side of this horrible drug. We feel we need to be a voice for the children caught up in this horrible mess.

‘This child can’t speak for himself but we are hopeful his story can convince another user to think twice about injecting this poison while having a child in their custody.

The pair were taken to hospital

‘We are well aware that some may be offended by these images and for that we are truly sorry, but it is time that the non drug using public sees what we are now dealing with on a daily basis.’

An officer said that he intervened when he saw a dark Ford card being driven near a school bus. The driver, identified as James Acord, was drowsy and nearly unintelligible.

He said he was taking the female passenger, Rhonda Pasek, to hospital.

The pair then fell unconscious and were taken to hospital for treatment for an overdose of heroin, a small amount of which was found on the front seat of the car between Pasek’s legs.

Acord was booked on a string of charges including endangering children and was sentenced to 180 days in prison. Pasek, was also charged and her son was placed into children’s services.

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