FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — Flagler County deputies are using new technology to help keep them safe and catch criminals faster.
▶ WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS
The drug detection device is known as the MX908.
Chief David Williams with the Flagler Sheriffs Office said it can pick up even trace amounts of substances.
This means deputies won’t necessarily have to handle narcotics to get a positive sample. Instead, they can swab any surface they touched.
Read: Girl, 6, left on hot bus at Oviedo day care
Eyewitness News reported in August of last year that a deputy passed out after being exposed to fentanyl, despite wearing gloves and other personal protection gear.
Williams said the device could have helped prevent that situation.
“He opened the suspected substance to perform a test on it and that’s where the exposure occurred so in the case with the 908, we could have maybe just swabbed the top of the baggie without opening it and put it in here,” said Williams.
Read: FAA grounds Falcon 9 after SpaceX booster lands on droneship, falls
The device does not take the place of formal lab testing but its results are admissible in court.
“So, in cases where a defendant tries to say the substance wasn’t what was tested, their defense would be indefensible against this device,” said Williams.
The device was about $100,000 and was purchased through a grant.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2024 Cox Media Group
