Each day, 14 Pennsylvanians die of an overdose of opioids. Now, new technologies are available for the first time in our region, helping investigators eliminate dangerous drugs in the streets faster than ever. The anchor of Channel 11 Gordon Loesch had an exclusive overview of the system designed to save lives.
Channel 11 cameras have been authorized inside the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office as a local police – some subcoupectures – have learned to use this new piece of very expensive technology – the MX908 spectrometer.
“It will change the game,” said Det. Michael Ledger of the Canonsburg Police Service.
The portable device can be used to test nearly 200 chemicals, explosives and drugs.
“If we have an active crime scene, we could take this machine to do and test things in the house out of the tables.”
The drugs specifically explain the reason why the DA of the County of Washington has just guaranteed six of the devices.
Police chief of the canton of Peters, Joseph Glover, said that this will offer a new line of protection to officers against dangerous substances such as heroin and fentanyl.
“It can be absorbed by your fingers; It can also be inhaled. And one or the other can be very bad for someone, especially someone who has absolutely no tolerance for that, “said chief Glover.
Currently, it takes weeks or months to send substances and obtain results from state crime laboratories.
But with the MX908 – it only takes a few minutes and, because it is portable, it can be done on the ground.
“To be able to continue the people who want to put these poisons in our communities much faster,” said Washington Da Jason Walsh County.
The president of the company, Stephen Mills, said that this device began in the fight against terrorism.
“Originally, targets of interest were based on chemical war and explosives,” said Mills. Mills says that his business has now sold more than 3000 devices worldwide. »»
“The police have really become a key objective for us because of the emergence of fentanyl and the emergence of Nitazens which is a new opioid that we see more in the street. Eighty percent people do not even know what it is – they are more powerful than fentanyl, “said Mills.
The Pennsylvania State Crime Lab Lab Lab would always be necessary for the “confirmation” on any “positive” test result of the MX908. But it is possible in the future – the device could be used to help reduce the workload to the State Lab.
Ohio has tested its own use.
Ohio has a very interesting program supported by their laboratory where they try to use the MX908 to judge cases of lower levels. Cases that would result in drug rehabilitation or you know sentences suspended like that. So they try to use it to remove part of the back of the laboratory.
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