Bozeman police officers arrested a man allegedly found in a bathroom stall at the Gallatin Valley Mall on Saturday, preparing to smoke two tablets of fentanyl that were on a piece of tin foil in the man’s lap.
The Bozeman Police Department said on social media Monday morning that a “well known drug user” was reported to be passed out in the bathroom and found by a mall security guard.
According to court documents, Auston Eugene Cooper, 23, was arrested after officers were called to the scene around 4:50 p.m. on Saturday.
Court documents say the mall security guard informed the responding officer that Cooper was passed out on the toilet with tin foil and a lighter.
The officer stated that several mall patrons, including children, were located in the food court just outside the bathroom. The security officer said he had evacuated other patrons from the bathroom before the officer arrived.
The officer said he located Cooper in plain view, in a bathroom stall with the door open. Cooper was allegedly passed out with his pants around his ankles and his head between his knees, arms dangling to the floor.
The officer said he recognized Cooper as a “heavy drug user” from prior encounters and spotted a piece of tin foil with burn marks and a partially burnt blue pill in Cooper’s possession.
Court documents say the officer called out Cooper’s name, waking him up, and told him to put his drugs on the ground. Cooper was then placed in handcuffs and arrested.
A second officer arriving at the scene also found a bent pen with burn marks on it, commonly used to smoke fentanyl. The officer also confirmed that there were two blue fentanyl pills on the foil Cooper allegedly had in his possession.
Cooper was taken to the Gallatin County Detention Center and cited for Possession of Dangerous Drugs. The responding officer noted in court documents that by “heating a deadly drug in a confined space, Cooper placed the innocent public at unnecessary risk.”
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has called fentanyl the top public safety threat in the state.
The Montana Department of Justice said in the first six months of 2022, nearly twice the amount of fentanyl was seized by law enforcement than the previous three years combined.
In January 2023, there were 28 fentanyl overdoses, including eight deaths, in a ten-day period.
Montana’s Department of Health and Human Services (DPHHS) has expanded pubic access to Naloxone, a medication that can reverse a suspected opioid-related overdose. More information is available at the DPHHS website.
According to DPHHS, some signs that may indicate an overdose are:
- Slow breathing or no breathing (less than 1 breath every 5 seconds)
- Vomiting
- Face is pale and clammy
- Drowsiness
- Blue lips, fingernails or toenails
- Slow, erratic, or no pulse
- Limp muscles
- Snoring or gurgling noises while asleep or nodding out
- The person might nod off or be unresponsive to verbal requests, but may still respond to loud noises or a light shake
- No response when you yell the person’s name
- No response when you rub the middle of their chest with your knuckles
If you suspect someone is experiencing an opioid overdose, call 911 immediately.
