The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has been awarded a $175,000 grant from the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to provide patrol deputies with narcotics-identifying devices.
The funds were awarded through the COPS Office’s Community Policing Development Microgrant. The funds will be used to equip the FCSO Community Policing Division with five Thermo Scientific TruNarc Handheld Narcotics Analyzers, as well as training for deputies on how to use the technology.
“The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is committed to protecting our residents by combatting poison peddlers and getting dangerous narcotics off the streets,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “By equipping our deputies with the latest technology, we can fight crime and put drug dealers in jail while saving time, money, and, most importantly, keeping our deputies safe.”
The TruNarc Handheld Narcotics Analyzer utilizes Raman spectroscopy, enabling law enforcement officers to identify more than 530 controlled substances in a single test. In addition to drugs, the device can identify common cutting agents and drug precursors. The device is also capable of scanning drug test samples directly through sealed plastic or glass containers, which ensures deputies’ safety while minimizing contamination to preserve evidence.
“Drug dealers beware: We have a new tool in our toolbelt to put you in the Green Roof Inn,” Sheriff Staly added.
Since 2017, under Sheriff Staly’s leadership, FCSO has received nearly $5 million in federal and state grants.
Deborah Coffey says
Good. And this is much better than a vaginal exam in an ambulance.
Cornelius says
So let me get this straight. Florida ended the “plain smell” doctrine so that cops can’t use the smell of marijuana as cause to go fishing. Then Rick Staly decides to spend $175k on a device that may or may not be admissible in court? I do realize it detects other drugs and I’m sure there are narrow use cases where it would be useful, but they are just going to use it to violate people’s rights. Meanwhile, some of the cars don’t have dashcams thus giving the cops impunity to violate people’s rights and pull them over without reasonable cause to go fishing…and then lie about it. We all need to protect ourselves from these corrupt thugs.
p.s. It would be fun to test it on the cops themselves and find all the coke. I wonder if this thing detects steroids too.