Jaxon Zeichick / Arizona Sonoran News

Pima County recorded fewer overdose deaths in 2025 than in 2024, a decline Tucson police attribute in part to expanded outreach, education and Narcan distribution.

There were 203 overdose fatalities in Pima County as of early December 2025, compared to 309 in all of 2024, according to the Tucson Police Department.

TPD expects that number to reach 220 fatalities by the end of 2025, which would still represent a significant drop.

Officials credit the decrease in part to the department’s Community Outreach and Engagement Unit, a specialized team that works with individuals struggling with drug addiction in the community.

But behind the statistics are real people, many of whom are reclaiming their lives.

Unit member Brendan Bond said that as a recovered heroin addict, he “uses the bad for good” and aims to “motivate others through his bad decisions to make good ones.”

Bond works on the front lines to help those affected by the opioid crisis, which has been a public health issue since before the millennium.

In most cases, the substance involved is fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin. It has flooded the streets in recent years, becoming the leading cause of overdose deaths nationwide, according to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Its high potency and availability make it more addictive and dangerous than any opioid that preceded it.

The CORE unit has helped reduce the number of deaths through two avenues: distribution of Narcan and public education, said Sgt. Beau Wilson.

During a recent targeted deployment, the CORE unit handed out 125 doses of Narcan in three hours. These deployments take place quarterly at different locations around Pima County.

“I wish it was better understood how prevalent it is,” said Joshua Parrish of the Tucson Police Department. “Everybody recognizes the guy bent in half at the bus stop is using drugs, but our unit is responding to overdoses at school and people at office jobs. It’s everywhere in society right now.”

In addition to field work, the unit teaches classes to city departments and public service providers about Narcan, deflection, situational awareness and de-escalation, with the goal of improving interactions with people suffering from substance use disorder.

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.

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