Wausau police report credits naloxone, neighborhood unit for drop in overdoses; warming-center activations shelter dozens during cold snaps

Deputy Chief Bateman told the Public Health and Safety Committee on Jan. 27, 2025 that drug overdose incidents in Wausau fell from 2023 to 2024, and cited increased naloxone availability and expanded work by the Police Department’s Community Resource Unit as likely factors.

Bateman, speaking during the police operations report, said Chief Barnes and local law enforcement leaders have reviewed community concerns about immigration-status enforcement and reiterated the department’s approach: an individual’s immigration status “is not going to impact our desire to wanna serve and help and do the best that we can.” He added that very serious violent crimes remain a separate consideration for law enforcement action and that Chief Barnes has conferred with peers in the Wisconsin Police Executive Group on the topic.

The operations report emphasized neighborhood policing and the Community Resource…