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May 10, 2022 • 9 hours ago • 2 minutes reading • 28 comments Lambton County Medical Officer Neil Harvey, 39, died on December 21, 2021 in London from a fentanyl overdose. Raid Ganem, 35, of London, has been charged with manslaughter. (obituary photo)
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A London man has been charged with manslaughter in the death of a Lambton paramedic who overdosed on fentanyl four days before Christmas, police said.
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Emergency crews responded on December 21 in the parking lot of the Exeter Road Hotel, where paramedics treated a man who died shortly afterwards, London police said on Tuesday.
The Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario has launched an investigation with the help of London police and concluded that the man, Neil Stephen Harvey, 39 of Ilderton, died of an overdose of fentanyl.
Police said investigators found that the suspect sold fentanyl, an opioid 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, to Harvey.
Reid Ganem, 35, of London, was arrested on Tuesday and appeared on video in court, where he was remanded in custody until his next court appearance on Thursday.
Court records show that Gannem has already faced nine criminal charges – six counts of drug possession for trafficking, driving with a disability, drug possession and breach of duty – stemming from four separate cases dating back to August.
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Harvey, the father of a young son, worked in youth correction and as a training officer at the Ilderton Fire Department before becoming a paramedic in Lambton County.
“Neil’s big, infectious smile was familiar to everyone he crossed,” his obituary said. “Neil could always be found devoting his time, energy and knowledge to helping his peers, students and colleagues learn and grow to be the best they can be. But above all, he loved spending time with his family, friends and, most importantly, his son. ”
Harvey, who also taught at Lambton College, was on leave from work as a paramedic due to post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of his death.
He was officially diagnosed with PTSD on June 9, 2020, according to a publication he made about an online fundraiser launched last summer by a fellow paramedic to help Harvey get a therapy dog.
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“I spent most of my life in adulthood, giving to others as a volunteer and supporting the communities in which I live and work to make them better places. “I’ve always had an incredibly difficult time asking for help, which is part of the reason I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.”
“Through my counseling and therapy, peer counseling, and the most mentally difficult, emotional, and humiliating odyssey I have undertaken, I am now more self-aware and empowered to realize that we all need help sometimes.”
Eventually, Harvey received a therapy dog named Nash, but his fight against addiction continued.
This is the second time in the last six months that London police have charged him with manslaughter in a fatal overdose of fentanyl.
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In the first case of its kind in London, 33-year-old Craig French was accused in October 2021 of manslaughter and trafficking in fentanyl in the death of Ira Jonathan Zucker, March 5, 2021. 31. A preliminary hearing in French is scheduled for November 29.
A London police spokesman confirmed that manslaughter cases were classified as homicides, bringing last year’s number to a record 15 in the city, surpassing 2005, when there were 14 murders, as the deadliest year.
There were 94 confirmed and probable deaths from opioid overdoses in London and Middlesex County between January and September 2021, according to Public Health Ontario.
dcarruthers@postmedia.com
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