A report from a whistleblower submitted to Congress on Friday alleges that Dr. Alexander Eastman, the chief medical officer of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), pressured employees to procure fentanyl lollipops by claiming they were necessary for emergency pain management during the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.
Staff members raised concerns about Dr. Eastman’s request for the potent narcotics, as reported by NBC. Dr. Eastman justified his actions by stating that it was his duty to prioritize the well-being of injured CBP agents and that the lollipops were intended for critical pain relief situations.
The whistleblowers said in the report that “Eastman spent copious hours of his and Office of the Chief Medical Officer staff time directing the OCMO staff to urgently help him procure fentanyl lollipops, a Schedule II narcotic, so that he could bring them on the CBP Air and Marine Operations helicopter on which he would be a passenger in New York City.”
“Dr. Eastman claims that his possession of fentanyl lollipops was necessary in case a CBP operator might be injured, or in case the CBP Air and Marine Operations team encountered a patient in need.”
Customs and Border Protection, responsible for combating the illegal trafficking of drugs such as fentanyl, is currently under scrutiny for its own operational methods.
NBC reported:
Eastman’s staff initially responded to his request by explaining that Narcan, which can save the lives of those who overdose on fentanyl, has been requested for CBP operations in the past, but not fentanyl itself. The whistleblowers say staff members raised questions about how he would store the lollipops and what he would do with unused fentanyl at the end of the operation, according to the report.
Eastman responded by writing his own policy regarding procurement of Schedule II narcotics, which omitted any mention of how narcotics were to be stored and disposed of, the whistleblowers allege.
Eastman was ultimately unsuccessful in procuring fentanyl lollipops, because a vendor could not be found in time for the U.N. General Assembly.
It was unusual for the medical officer of CBP to attend the General Assembly, a meeting of diplomats and heads of state to discuss international issues, but Eastman made the argument to his staff that his presence was needed because CBP’s Air and Marine Operations division was helping the Secret Service with security.
The whistleblowers, represented by the nonprofit Government Accountability Project, also allege Eastman was under investigation by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility at the time regarding improper ordering and securing of narcotics for a friend who is a pilot for Air and Marine Operations. The friend worked as a helicopter pilot for Air and Marine Operations in New York during the General Assembly, the report says.
A spokesperson from CBP informed NBC News that all allegations of misconduct are taken seriously. The issue has been forwarded to the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) for investigation.
Dr. Alexander Eastman is the acting chief medical officer who took on the role in June 2023 following a sudden change in medical leadership after the unfortunate death of an 8-year-old girl under CBP care.
More from National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund:
Dr. Eastman is the Senior Medical Officer at the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD). In this role, he is responsible for operational medicine across DHS in addition to countering threats to the United States worldwide. Dr. Eastman is a Task Force Officer with ICE Homeland Security Investigations and is assigned to the Special Response Team (SRT) program.
Dr. Eastman is also a Dallas Police Department lieutenant, the Chief Medical Officer of the Dallas Police Department, and the Lead Medical Officer for the Dallas Police SWAT Team. He is actively involved in national planning for law enforcement medical support through the Department of Justice’s Officer Safety and Wellness Group, the Committee on Tactical Emergency Casualty Care, the Hartford Consensus Working Group and serves as the Medical Advisor for the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
Formerly, Dr. Eastman served as the Chief of the Rees-Jones Trauma Center at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, TX. He was also an Assistant Professor and trauma surgeon in the Division of Burns, Trauma and Critical Care at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and continues to be a practicing trauma surgeon.
Dr. Eastman was recently awarded the Dallas Police Department Medal of Valor for actions taken during the July 7, 2016 police ambush and has been previously honored as an Outstanding Young Alumni (2014) from The University of Texas at Austin, the Joe C. Jones Reserve Officer of the Year (2013) and Officer of the Year (2014) from the Dallas Police Department and Dallas Police Association.
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Give them to inmates in jails& prisons
Sounds like his most important job is “drug dealer”….
Another fine app0intment by these crazys in charge…wth is going on with these people..
“Fentanyl Lollipops” for UN General Assembly..??? That sounds completely legit. For the most part, the UN seems to be operating on drugs as it is so what would be the problem – hahahahahaha…
Feed them to the U.N. reps & make everybody’s lives better again.
Easy way to get the U.N. OUT of the U.S.A.
We would be better off without the meddling U.N. here !
USA out of the UN!
UN out of the USA!
Where do they fine these a holes.
Money talks and Fentenyl walks, those un-compassionate, inhumane, low life maggots could careless about people’s lives.
They would murder their own mother for money.
Well, if the lollypops had sufficiently lethal dosages……..
This might have been a real fun idea!
Not a bad idea!
Fire him, that’s not normal behavior for someone in his position.
I must admit that it will help with pain. Dead people never seem to have pain. Sounds like another domestic enemy of the constitution.
Sounds like another Fauci. Give him about five of those lollypops and mark him gone. And give the UN folks all they can swallow.
The UN is a cancer on America.
Yes John Warren, defund the UN and give them 30 days to get the Hell out of America, then pass out the lolly pops to them.
Make sure that the DNC also gets their fair share……..
Amen Brother, then give UN Building to TRUMP to rebuild.
Eastmen has spaghetti for brains… just goes to show one can have a 100 awards and still have no common sense! Suck on this. Where’s this going? What’s next give the Fentanyl lollipops to the Kids.
I think its a terrible solution.