SHAFTER, Calif. (KERO) — Funding secured by Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains is being used by the Shafter Police Department to combat fentanyl use through education and intervention, using tools like drones and e-bikes.
- In mid-2024 Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains announced that she secured millions of dollars in funding for local law enforcement agencies and medical providers to combat the fentanyl crisis in Kern County through treatment, education, and intervention.
- The Shafter Police Department was one of the departments tabbed to apply to the Fentanyl Misuse and Overdose Prevention Task Force, and is using the money to provide education tot the community with a dedicated resource officer and intervene with new tools like e-bikes and an upgraded drone program.
- According to preliminary data from the task force, over 50 pounds of fentanyl have been seized in Kern County over the last few months.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Mid-last year, Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains secured millions of dollars in funding for Kern County law enforcement agencies and medical providers to participate in the Fentanyl Misuse and Overdose Prevention Task Force. I'm Sam Hoyle, your neighborhood reporter, The Shafter Police Department was one of the several agencies to receive part of the funding and they're using it in a variety of ways.
"I really had to think outside the box on what I thought my department, in its current position can do to to to head off fentanyl in its path and I immediately just thought that the E-bikes would be a good opportunity for street-level interdiction," said Shafter Police Chief Randy Milligan.
That outside-of-the-box thinking includes E-Bikes and a drone program that allows officers to get into and cover wider areas they previously had a harder time covering.
"Those areas would be like smaller alleys orchards. We have a lot of orchards surrounding the Shafter areas of the park, there is one park that has an alleyway almost like a breezeway, that it's hard to get through with a vehicle, so we're able to get through there on a bike," said Tim King Jr., a senior officer for the department.
"This allows us to have that immediate air support, and then also it lets us get into areas that sometimes a helicopter can't. So we've had multiple people foot bail from us. We've had people that are, you know, barricading themselves inside of houses where we need to get a perimeter set," said Shafter Police Sergeant Storm Kinkade.
According to preliminary data, over the last few months over 50 pounds of fentanyl have been seized by agencies that work with the task force.
"I targeted more rural areas than urban areas of Kern County, because that's typically where a lot of the drugs are being missed, and I really relied on their expertise, like the E bikes when I first heard about it, I'm like, All right, let's go," said Bains.
The funding isn't just going towards E-Bikes and Drones, but the city has also hired a dedicated community service officer to teach the community about the dangers of fentanyl.
Shafter PD wasn't the only department to get this funding, Wasco and Arvin PD also received some funding as well as medical care providers like Kern Medical.
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