CHANDLER, Ariz. — Police officers’ lives are on the line every day, and one big threat they deal with is potential drug exposure on the job.
Law enforcement are at risk of getting sick, being hospitalized, or even death, while encountering dangerous drugs like fentanyl, during investigations, according to the Chandler Police Department.
To combat the drug exposure, Chandler police are expanding the use of their handheld drug analyzer, called TruNarc. The TruNarc can identify more than 530 narcotics and drugs, while significantly reducing risk of exposure.
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The device works by scanning through the plastic or glass container the drugs are in. Then law enforcement don't have to open the packaging to figure out what the drug is. The TruNarc can also identify cutting agents and prescription medication in one single drug test.
Scanning through the glass or plastic also minimizes contamination and preserves evidence. The Chandler Police Department now has six handheld drug testing devices. It’s all thanks to more than $200,000 dollars in funding from the State of Arizona and Gila River Indian Community. Eva Zermeno, a Chandler police detective, said before its expansion, the TruNarc was specific to their narcotics unit and related specialties.
“So they've basically been trying it out on the field already, but now we have this extra funding that allows us to expand it," Zermeno said.
Chandler PD is training more officers to use the TruNarc out on the road. Before using the drug analyzing tool, Chandler police said officers would have to breach into the packaging and use testing kits to find out what the substance was.
Chandler police now has six drug analyzing tools. They will be spread out between each of the three precincts and some will float around. Zermeno said if an officer gets an inconclusive testing on a drug, they can send it to the lab to determine what the drug is without being exposed.
“But obviously, if they're undetermined on what that is, they'll make sure that they get extra packaging just because of the fact that it could be some sort of fentanyl substance that is any little miniscule part of any of that drug can actually make them very sick or kill them," Zermeno said.
Chandler PD said buying more drug analyzers will also increase their capability of identifying the drugs. Trained officers can request one when they’re making any kind of traffic stop or call, which could expose them to drugs like meth, cocaine or fentanyl. In addition to reducing officer drug exposure, Chandler police said the TrunNrc gets any drugs found off the streets faster.
“So by having this device out in available for officers, it's actually going to enhance our community safety," Zermeno said. "For the simple fact that having this device is going to allow officers to process drugs a lot faster and get it through the judicial process a lot sooner than before."
Chandler police said they sent an email for officers to sign up to train and the class filled up quickly. They’re training in small groups to implement use in the community.
Outside of Chandler, the Phoenix Police Department also uses the TruNarc. According to a case study on TruNarc’s website, the company worked with Phoenix PD and found the drug analyzing tool freed up lab time for higher priority cases and was expected to save the lab money.
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