Police chief concerned about drugs, particularly spice

MILTON — Illegal drugs exist in Milton, but they have not reached the level of concern they have in other areas, according to Police Chief Tony Tindell.

“There are drugs out there. We do our jobs trying to enforce it, trying to get everyone involved, buyers and users, but I don’t think there’s a big epidemic. We are doing what we can,” Tindell said.

The problem does seem to be spiking lately, he told the Milton Council during a recent meeting.

While he told council members the department could use another officer, he hesitated at taking that step.

“As far as spending money and creating more resources, I prefer to step back. Let’s look at everything, evaluate, determine costs, (and) determine problems. Solving the situation may not mean extra manpower. It could be just some kind of different effort we haven’t tried yet,” Tindell said.

Currently, the department employs 20 full-time officers including the chief and one half-time officer, according to MPD Public Information Officer Pamela Holt.

Drugs found in the city include heroin, marijuana, crack and spice, according to Tindell. One of the dangers with spice, he said, is the unknown factor.

“Spice is synthetically made,” Tindell said. “The worst part is, they put in everything they can find. We don’t know what’s in them. Some chemicals can really do damage to people even the first time. Some don’t have as much.

“It’s made synthetically by underground chemists most of the time coming from out of the county.”

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Police chief concerned about drugs, particularly spice