VIDEO – BETTER LESSON THAN A LECTURE –
Jan. 9, 2023 – In an announcement released on Friday, Westfield Police Chief Christopher Battiloro said the teacher, Frank Thompson, was initially “observed in distress” by students before an administrator called the school resource officer, Fortunato Riga, to the classroom. Riga, who later reported the situation to police, recalled finding Thompson “unconscious and unresponsive” on the floor, with the school nurse actively treating him.
Riga told police that he noticed Thompson exhibiting signs of an opioid overdose and administered the medication naxolone hydrochloride, sold under the brand name Narcan, which is used to reverse symptoms. After he was given the medication, Thompson began “showing marked signs of improvement,” police said.
Thompson, 57, teaches 6th and 7th grade visual art and 8th grade arts and crafts, according to his teaching page on the Roosevelt Intermediate School website.
