TOMS RIVER – When Prosecutor Joseph Coronato gave speeches about the opioid epidemic, he would open with statistics on the numbers of overdose deaths to show people just how severe this epidemic is.
When he became prosecutor in 2013, he said there were 10 overdoses in seven days. One was an 18-year-old girl in Brick who was doing 25 packets of heroin in the morning and another 25 at night.
Traditional police work – arresting criminals – wasn’t enough. It needed a different approach. The different approach is what he hopes will continue after his appointment as prosecutor ends in October.
Since March, Coronato said he knew he was on borrowed time. The position is filled by the governor. Coronato is a Republican. Phil Murphy is a Democrat. So, Murphy has chosen Bradley Billhimer as his replacement. Billhimer is a local attorney who ran for an Assembly seat as a Democrat. He is scheduled to start on Oct. 8.
“I’m confident, in many aspects, I have made a difference. I think that we’ve saved lives,” he said.
Ocean County was first in the state in equipping police and school nurses with Narcan, the nasal spray that is used to stop the effects of an overdose. It was first in having an emergency room overdose recovery program, pawn shop registry, and Blue HART, where addicts can come into certain police departments and ask for help without fear of arrest.
If he had more time, he would have wanted to see an expansion of the Blue HART program. There were plans to implement it in Toms River. The roadblock to doing Toms River in the past had been that the demand was so great that there just weren’t enough beds in rehabilitation programs. The Toms River plan would have used hospitals for a brief stay, and then have follow-up care with recovery coaches. This program would then have been spread throughout the county.
He said there’s been a 20 percent reduction in opioid deaths since these programs began. It’s still too high, in his opinion, but it’s moving in the right direction.
The programs Coronato seems most proud of share a common element. They are proactive measures rather than reactive. Police generally are known for making arrests, not preventing them. But preventing arrests is the future of law enforcement, he said. These methods would defer people from entering the system and keep the system from growing.
If someone has an addiction, they might steal to feed that addiction. You could throw them in jail, but that doesn’t solve the addiction. It doesn’t change anything, and when they are out, they will likely steal again. Plus, being jailed ruins someone’s record.
It’s not enough to expunge their record, he said. Expungement doesn’t really work, because with social media, everyone knows you’ve been arrested, and future employers can skip over you. This keeps people in the rut they are in now and keep them from growing independent of their bad habits.
However, that doesn’t mean you won’t be held accountable for serious crimes. If you hold up a store, don’t expect leniency, he said. He points to the county’s part in a multi-jurisdictional effort that led to 28 arrests and the dismantling of nine drug facilities.
And if you’re the one who sells the drugs, expect to lose everything. The county’s strict liability laws mean that they can take possession of and sell cars and homes used in the business of dealing drugs. The proceeds from this go toward Narcan and educational programs in schools.
“You go after the true predators who deserve to be in jail,” he said.
Due to programs like these, he has racked up a list of recognitions from various agencies, mostly for his work addressing the opioid crisis. However, he also credits his department for all their hard work. Technically, he said, he supervises 1,600 police officers in the county, and they’ve stood shoulder to shoulder with the prosecutor’s office.
“My heartfelt thanks goes out to them. They really make a difference,” he said.
What’s Next?
“I have the greatest job in the world. When you get the job, five years seems so long away,” but you blink and it flies by, he said.
Coronato, an attorney, is weighing his options.
“I’m fielding offers from other walks of life. It’s important to find a good landing spot. I want to look before I leap,” he said. “Truly, I would like to continue to address the opiate epidemic. The death rate is still unconscionable.”
He’s rumored to be a candidate for local political office. To this he just said that he would have to see what his ultimate goals are, and for that, he needs to sit down with his family.
“To me, nothing is more important than family.”
