Rep. LaTurner to host conference following Fentanyl Roundtable

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - U.S. Congressman Jake LaTurner will host a conference following his Fentanyl Roundtable in Topeka on Tuesday morning.

U.S. Representative Jake LaTurner (R-KS) says at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 16, he will host a roundtable at the Joint Operations Center at the Topeka Law Enforcement Center, 320 S. Kansas Ave., to discuss the fentanyl crisis in Kansas and across the nation.

Congressman LaTurner said he will be joined by Shawnee Co. Sheriff Brian Hill, Topeka Chief of Police Bryan Wheeles, Crawford Co. Sheriff Danny Smith, and Libby Davis of Keepin’ Clean for Coop and mother of Cooper Davis.

Family of Kansas teen killed by fentanyl poisoning shares story, issues warning

Cooper Davis was a 16-year-old student at Mill Valley High School in Shawnee when Libby said he took half a pill of what he thought was Percocet. That half-pill turned out to be laced with a fatal dose of fentanyl and Cooper lost his life.

LaTurner said fentanyl is now the number one killer of adults between 18 and 45. In the first 6 months of 2021, he said the Sunflower State saw a 54% increase in drug overdoses - nearly half of which were caused by fentanyl.

Now, in the first three months of 2022, LaTurner noted that Kansas saw more than 2,500 overdoses.

As the U.S. continues to see record-high encounters and seizures of drugs at the southern border, LaTurner said it s vital that the community works together to provide law enforcement agents with the tools and resources needed to protect communities.