Fentanyl detector speeds drug removal, limits officers’ exposure

WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The fight against the worsening fentanyl crisis is getting a new tool to protect first responders during overdose calls. A detector device allows responders to stay at a safe distance while analyzing potentially harmful substances.

Fentanyl is rapidly flowing through the U.S. southern border. Last year, 24,000 pounds of the synthetic opioid were seized at ports of entry, double what U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized the year before.

Not only are parents losing children to the drug, but law enforcement officers are also increasingly at risk.

Limiting officers’ exposure to unknown substances

From rural Florida to the streets of San Diego, officers have been captured on video gasping and collapsing after coming into contact with fentanyl.

The Florida International University’s Global Forensic and Justice Center created a portable handheld spectrometer that replaces the roadside chemistry kit officers have used to analyze drugs for decades.

Kirk Grates, research project manager of the forensic chemistry section at the center, explained traditional technology brings officers close to an unknown substance.

“I’ll be honest, I never thought this was even possible when I first started my career that you would actually be able to analyze a chemical or chemicals at a distance,” Grates said.

The handheld device allows an officer to stay back as far as 6 feet, and it’s not just fentanyl the portable device can pick up. For example, it can identify meth through a car window.

“It’s 8,400 different chemical compounds that it can identify, and that spans illicit drugs can be explosives, toxic industrial chemicals, chemical warfare agents and other precursors,” Grates explained.

The technology can also reduce arrests from false positives.

‘I hope everyone’s able to get their hands on one’: Officer

While some medical experts question if fentanyl exposure can truly cause severe reactions, there’s no downside to being a bit farther away from unknown hazards.

“It just really reduces the chance of you being exposed. Whatever substance you’re testing, you’ve got to open that up, take a specimen out of it, move it to a field test kit and test it. So, you’ve got a lot of potential for exposure,” said Denton Police Department officer Lucas Bailey.

The department, based in Denton, Texas, is in the second year of a pilot program using detectors loaned by FIU, and it’s already proving invaluable for undercover officers.

“It gives them a better feeling about one, the work they’re doing is on the right path, right, I’m not buying pieces of peanuts, when they’re saying it’s crack, or I’m not buying baby powder, when they say it’s fentanyl,” said Michael Kessler, forensic manager at the Denton Police Department.

“It’s an excellent tool in keeping officers safe, and I hope everyone’s able to get their hands on one,” Bailey said.

FIU offers an online safety program that teaches officers to use this rapid analysis tool.