ALPENA — A potentially lifesaving device has been added to local efforts to fight illegal drug use, one speaker reported at the quarterly meeting of the Huron Undercover Narcotics Team Thursday.

HUNT, a multijurisdictional task force made up of representatives of law enforcement agencies in the four-county area, focuses on the detection and removal of illegal drug activity from Northeast Michigan. Its governing board, made up of area law enforcement heads, prosecutors and key government leaders, meets quarterly to oversee the work of the task force.

At Thursday’s meeting, held at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, D/F/Lt. Kip Belcher of the Michigan State Police Seventh District shared information about TruNarc devices recently obtained by multiple drug enforcement task forces with the help of the Michigan State Police. The device is used to quickly analyze and identify the components of any suspected drug, helping to ensure the safety of law enforcement working with drug crimes.

Synthetic drugs such as fentanyl and its derivatives have become so powerful that merely touching the substances is said to be extremely dangerous to law enforcement and to EMTs responding to overdoses.

“All it takes is for this to get airborne, with some sort of a device or a fan or what have you, and it can take our officers down for the count,” Belcher said, lauding the device as a lifesaver, including for the users of the drugs.

The TruNarc device allows officers to test any medication for hundreds of different substances without having to open a package or touch the drug. The HUNT team’s unit can be used by anyone, Belcher pointed out, encouraging residents who encounter suspicious substances to contact the Michigan State Police Alpena Post to ask for assistance identifying whether the substance is safe.

Also at the meeting:

¯ Presque Isle County Sheriff Joe Brewbaker reported that since the last quarterly meeting, his county approved appointing one of its deputies to serve as a full-time HUNT team member, backing its financial support of the team with an active hands-on presence. That investment, Brewbaker said, has had positive effects in the county, giving the sheriff’s department a better feel for what HUNT is doing and making positive inroads in fighting drug crime.

¯ Sheriff Scott Stephenson of Alcona County, which currently supports HUNT financially but doesn’t provide an officer to the team, said that with the current understaffing of his department, the county won’t be able to consider the possibility of adding even a part-time HUNT member until at least the end of the calendar year.

¯ HUNT Commander D/LT. Stuart Sharp shared an update of his team’s activity in the past quarter.

The board discussed the potential impact on HUNT of a proposed needle giveaway program suggested by District Health Department No. 4 which recently was rejected by the Alpena Municipal Council. The board expressed concern about the potential negative impact such a program could have, many board members commenting that it would enable drug use more than it would prevent death or illness from infection from dirty needles.

Belcher reported on a recent inspection of HUNT, saying that Sharp and his team had been well-prepared and had impressed the examiners.

Inspector Mike Hahn, assistant commander of the MSP 7th District, unveiled a new metal sign bearing the HUNT logo, created to be used as a backdrop for press conferences. He shared that an email template had gone out to a mailing list comprised of community and business leaders across the area this week with information about HUNT. Future such emails will offer important information, activity updates, and links to meeting minutes and relevant online articles with the intent of keeping the community better informed about HUNT’s work so that it can more effectively work as a partner in the important business of eradicating illegal drug use in northern Michigan.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.