Brown Joins Franklin County Sheriff as He Leads Bipartisan Bill to Help Ohio Law Enforcement Detect Fentanyl, Protect Officers

Download production-quality b-roll of screening device demonstration HERE.

COLUMBUS, OH – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin and Chief Deputy Rick Minerd to outline his bipartisan bill to provide Ohio law enforcement officers high-tech devices to detect and identify dangerous drugs like fentanyl.

The Providing Officers with Electronic Resources, or POWER Act, gives Ohio law enforcement officers access to the same high-tech screening devices Brown secured for Customs and Border Protection agents in his INTERDICT Act. President Trump signed INTERDICT into law earlier this year. The POWER Act is cosponsored by Senator Rob Portman (R-OH).

“Law enforcement officers are on the frontlines of our efforts to combat illegal fentanyl,” said Brown. “Following our success in securing new screening devices for federal law enforcement agents earlier this year, we need to give Ohio officers the same tools to address Ohio’s opioid epidemic and protect themselves from dangerous drugs like fentanyl.”

Brown’s office worked closely with state and federal law enforcement to craft the POWER Act. Brown was joined today by Franklin County law enforcement to discuss efforts by law enforcement to combat the opioid epidemic in Ohio and how handheld screening devices would help officers on the front lines of this crisis. 

“As Sheriff, I need every resource possible in the fight against deadly drugs like opioids and fentanyl,” said Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin. “This Act, led by both Ohio Senators Brown and Portman, will give us an invaluable tool to help in that fight.”

These devices are already used by federal law enforcement to identify dangerous drugs at U.S. ports of entry. The devices use laser technology to analyze potentially harmful substances - even through some packaging - and identify those substances based on a library of thousands of compounds that are categorized within the device.

The devices would also help address the backlog of drugs awaiting laboratory identification which will allow law enforcement to more effectively conduct drug investigations and prosecutions. Without these devices, suspected drugs have to be sent to labs for testing - which can take months in some cases, delaying the justice system. And because the devices can quickly and effectively alert officers to dangerous substances in the field, they also help ensure officers can test and handle substances like fentanyl safely.   

The POWER Act is supported by the National Sheriffs’ Association, Fraternal Order of Police, Major Cities Chiefs Association, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, National Association of Police Organizations, National HIDTA Directors Association, Sergeants Benevolent Association, International Union of Police Associations, National Narcotics Officers’ Associations’ Coalition, National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies, National Tactical Officers Association, Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association, and Ohio Fraternal Order of Police.

More information on the bill can be found here.

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