New police video raises awareness
of area drug crisis

A new hard-hitting short video by the Culpeper Police Department, viewer discretion advised, emphasizes the life-and-death nature of the ongoing drug crisis with its actual body cam footage of a man overdosed on a bathroom floor. Culpeper Police Captain Timothy Chilton is featured next, commenting on the “staggering” level of opioid overdoses in the last few years.

“The heroin crisis has certainly claimed many lives in our community and has forever changed many families,” states Police Chief Chris Jenkins. “The Culpeper Police Department is committed in our efforts to combat this deadly opiate public health crisis. We will continue to provide prevention, education and enforcement and use all available resources at our disposal to fight against this epidemic.”

The Police Department video ends with the faces and stories of community members who lost loved ones to drug use, and how they are using the tragedies to foster hope for others.

“I’m Kristen Jenkins, co-founder of Team Jordan, a local suicide coalition created in memory of my brother, Jordan, who committed suicide in 2014.”

“My name’s Caroline Folker, I lost my 19-year-old daughter, Kathrine, to an accidental heroin overdose and so started a support group, Families Overcoming Drug Addiction, to support those families whose lives have been impacted by drug addiction.”

“My name is Moira Satre. I lost my oldest son, Bobby, to a heroin overdose in April of 2015. I started a nonprofit called Come As You Are to connect people who’ve been impacted by addiction to support and local treatment resources.”

“My name is Dee Fleming, founder of Culpeper Overdose Awareness, which I started in memory of my son, Joseph, who died of an overdose of cocaine and fentanyl. Our mission is to raise awareness of the substance use problems in our community and to create a dialogue where it’s comfortable for families to talk about this.”

“We’re Ed and Gloria Long. We founded the Living the Dream Foundation in 2016 in memory of our son, Ben, who committed suicide due to his heroin addiction.”

“Hi, my name is Betty Ramsburg, and I lost my 27-year-old son, Travis Rose, to a heroin overdose in May of 2015 and together with the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office we started the REVIVE program in memory of my son, known as the Travis Project.”

“My name is Sherry Thornhill and I’m here for my son Shawn Berry, who died of alcohol and heroin addiction. I work with Dan (Obarski) with Sex, Drugs and God and we’re also getting ready to open up the Berry Brothers Foundation to help recovering addicts.”

“Addiction follows you everywhere. Don’t let it consume you,” the Culpeper PD video states. “We want everyone who watches this video to know that you’re not alone in your battle against this epidemic. This video provides everyone with resources that are available to you right now.”
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