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Parent urges Los Angeles City Council to back fentanyl detection devices after son's death
Summary
At a City Council meeting, a parent and representative of a parents’ collective urged support for portable fentanyl-detection devices and test strips, saying her son died of a fentanyl poisoning and describing the types of detection tools she wants the council to promote.
A parent who said she represents a collective of parents urged the Los Angeles City Council to support portable fentanyl-detection devices and test strips, recounting the overdose death of her son and saying the tools could be used “on the go.”
Shannon Chat, who identified herself as a parent and representative of a parent collective that she said includes about 1,000 parents, told the council her son Sammy died four years ago in an apparent fentanyl poisoning and described encounters in which people offered free drugs and chews containing fentanyl. "Tenemos que sobrevivir y sufrir esta pérdida," she said during public comment.
Chat described two types of detection tools she said are available: test strips ("tiritas de prueba") and a cassette with a spoon-like component into which a small sample can be placed to indicate whether fentanyl is present. She asked the council to support measures "que tenga que ver con detener el uso de esta droga que está matando a nuestros niños."
The remarks were made during the meeting's public-comment period; no council motion or formal action on fentanyl detection devices was recorded during the portion of the transcript provided. The speaker asked the council to back efforts to stop fentanyl use and to endorse or otherwise support the use of on-the-spot detection devices by parents and community members.
The comment referenced a recent local incident at "One Sprm" where, the speaker said, someone offered a product that already contained fentanyl. Chat’s statements focused on personal experience and an appeal for the council to support harm-reduction or detection efforts; the transcript does not show council response, staff direction, funding proposals, or votes on related measures.
