Jacksonville father of baby who overdosed on fentanyl arrested, charged with child neglect

Four months after a little boy was saved from an overdose, his father was arrested and charged with child neglect.

Nathaniel Shawn Ford, 44, of Jacksonville was arrested on a warrant for child neglect during a traffic stop last weekend.

According to the arrest report, Ford was pulled over early Sunday morning for riding a dirt bike that was not street legal. When the officer called Ford’s name, he came back with a warrant for child neglect.

The child neglect charge stems from a June 5 incident at an apartment complex in the Spring Park neighborhood. Police say Ford’s 7-month-old boy became unresponsive after overdosing on drugs. (Click here to watch JSO’s video of the incident.)

Although the arrest report is heavily redacted, Ford told police that after realizing the child was unresponsive, he tried to wash the boy’s mouth in the sink. After that effort failed to revive the boy, Ford said he took the baby to the bathroom and ran water over the child while patting the boy’s back to revive him.

A female neighbor who was CPR certified attempted to revive the boy until paramedics could arrive. That neighbor told police that Ford told her he believed his son became ill after picking up a cigarette and putting it in his mouth.

JSO officers arrived on scene before paramedics. In Officer Langston’s bodycam video, Ford is seen and heard telling the officer that he saw his son eating a cigarette.

News4JAX crime and safety analyst Tom Hackney said the officer’s training helped her determine that the baby’s inability had nothing to do with what the father said.

“That first interrogation by the officer on the bodycam was like having to wait a moment. This is not correct. All of that happens while the child is actually dying in front of the officer, so luckily there was some sense to suspect what was going on. Those actions saved that child,” Hackney said.

Officer Langston immediately responded to help the child, assessing his condition and performing a sternum rub to help him breathe again after suspecting the boy had overdosed on drugs. In the bodycam video, you hear her ask if there were narcotics in the apartment.

When Jacksonville Fire Rescue arrived, medical crews gave the child Narcan, a drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, and then rushed the baby to Wolfson Children’s Hospital for treatment.

According to JSO, doctors said fentanyl was found in his blood.

When detectives searched the apartment, they said they found drugs.

The child was handed over to a family member after several days of treatment.

Ford remains in the Duval County Jail on a half-million dollar bond.