BY FREDA MIKLIN
GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
Greenwood Village Police Officer Albert Barcena has received three lifesaving awards in the three short years since he joined the force.
GVPD officer Albert Barcena has earned three lifesaving awards in three years.
Officer Barcena earned his first lifesaving award when he was dispatched to a call at a local hotel where a person was reported to be unconscious and not breathing after ingesting illegal drugs. Barcena and his partner tried to revive the overdose victim with NARCAN (the brand name of naloxone, a prescription opioid antagonist that can quickly restore normal breathing after an opioid overdose; it is usually given as a nasal spray), then by using an AED (automatic external defibrillator). When neither of those tools resulted in a detectable heartbeat, the officers started chest compressions and rescue breathing. With those efforts and a second administration of NARCAN, the victim finally exhibited a pulse and regained consciousness, after which he was transported by South Metro Fire Rescue (SMFR) to a hospital, where he survived.
The most recent incident that earned Officer Barcena a lifesaving award happened when passers-by noticed a person at the bus shelter at the Arapahoe Light Rail Station who appeared to be unconscious. When police arrived, they found “a middle-aged man dressed in business attire who did not give off any signs of a narcotics overdose.” However, the people who had called police were drug users and had NARCAN with them that they had administered to the victim before police arrived. Upon arrival, Officer Barcena determined that the man was still non-responsive and began administering chest compressions. When SMFR came on scene, they took over that effort and performed other lifesaving steps. Per Officer Barcena, “After several minutes, which feels like an eternity in these situations, (the person) regained consciousness and admitted to paramedics and to us that he had taken illegal prescription drugs,” which resulted in him experiencing a cardiac arrest. He survived the incident.
Barcena said, “As first responders, we are usually first to most critical situations, whether it is a medical situation or a law enforcement situation, and I love the fact that when someone is having the worst moment of their life… we get to be there when they really need someone to be there…. When these folks are experiencing a crisis situation, they look beyond the uniform. They just want someone there who is going to help them. That’s what we do… and that’s what brings me back each and every day.”
Officer Barcena told The Villager that he grew up in Colorado and knew that he wanted a career in public safety at a very young age. He spent five years as an emergency dispatcher for the Denver Police Department and Denver Health, before becoming a GV police officer in January 2019.
We asked Barcena if he had thoughts on the pervasive drug problem. He said, “As a police officer, we wear many hats, often on the same call. We go from performing CPR on someone to helping with family members. Addiction impacts everybody, from the homeless to people who live in million-dollar homes. We always try to offer help to folks who want help. The first step with addiction is that they have to want to get better.” He continued, “We (the police) interact with narcotics a lot on various different calls. It could be driving under the influence of narcotics, narcotics’ sales, finding drugs in stolen vehicles, overdoses, or people arrested for other crimes who have narcotics on their person.” Barcena estimated that at least one-fourth of arrests he’s made have had a drug component to them, including “most of the shoplifters that I arrest.” From speaking to other officers around metro Denver, he’s pretty sure it it is no different in other communities.
Officer Barcena brought the conversation back to what being a police officer means to him, saving, “Yes, these folks have chosen to use narcotics. But I’m there because people have called us in the worst moment of someone’s life. They are experiencing a crisis and they turn to us for help. That’s what we do. We don’t care who you are, what your background is, how much money you have in your bank account. We are going to help everyone the same. And if you’re experiencing an overdose, even though it was brought on by their own poor choices, that’s OK. We’re there to do everything we can to help. Our job is to save lives, not to judge people. We’re going to try to offer them services, to try to get clean, to get away from the drugs. Then it’s up to them to want to change.”
With all the talk about how people view the police, we wanted to know if Officer Barcena had experienced being treated disrespectfully. He said, “Most people understand that we have a job to do. What you see in the media is not necessarily a reflection of what’s happening here. In Greenwood Village, we treat everyone with respect and dignity, regardless of what has happened. I could be arresting a homicide suspect or someone who has just hurt someone else. They’re going to have to answer for their actions, but we (the police) are not the judge and jury. We are going to treat them with respect and dignity, do our job, and let the other pieces of the criminal justice system do theirs.” He talked about the quality of the other officers he works with at GVPD. “We hire fantastic people who make good decisions. We train at a very high level and we are always first on scene because we’re always moving, compared to the fire department that has to get their gear and get into their truck. We are medically trained at a BLS (Basic Life-Support) level, we have medical equipment and we’re first on scene. We are very fortunate and our citizens benefit from that.” Barcena enjoys being a police officer in GV because of the training, the strong command staff, and the support from the community and the city council.
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