ROCHESTER, Minn. – Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson said Minnesota needs a law to require hospitals to report drug overdoses. Right now, Torgerson said, drug investigators are hobbled by not being alerted early to many cases. Of 47 overdose deaths in Rochester last year, many came to his attention late, Torgerson said in a radio KROC interview. “There weren’t 47 death investigations last year because we didn’t know about them in most cases,” he said. The sooner police can respond to an overdose, the more likely a dealer can be identified and prosecuted – and fatally bad drugs taken off the market, he said. As a matter of practice, police don’ t pursue charges if a person commits to seeking treatment, he said.
Torgerson. Forty-seven Rochester overdose deaths last year, 60 so far this year. Police investigations hampered by hospitals keeping them under the radar.