METH VIDEO FEATURES MARION OFFICIALS

JASPER, Tenn. -- Marion County Chief Investigator Brent Myers is
noted for recovering thousands of dollars in drug money and busting
scores of methamphetamine laboratories.

Now he is sharing his methods with others in state and local law
enforcement agencies by filming a law enforcement training video.

The video will teach officers to recognize clandestine
methamphetamine laboratories and to know the extreme dangers
associated with them, Mr. Myers said. The training program is called
CODE Blue (CODE stands for Certified Office Distance Education) and
is organized by the Law Enforcement Innovation Center at the
University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

"We wanted to prepare officers for the steps they need to take to
protect themselves and the public," said Marion County Sheriff Jim
Webb. "Our (office) has seized more than 100 meth labs this year --
more than anyone else in the state."

Topics Mr. Myers and Sheriff Webb touched on in the four-hour course
were recognizing a meth lab, identifying the most commonly used
chemicals in a meth lab and recognizing a meth lab disposal site.

"The video is meant to give officers a basic understanding of what to
look for," said Mr. Myers, who has participated in a number of
narcotics training courses. Among those are a 40-hour laboratory
safety certification course, he said.

A primary danger of "mom and pop" meth labs, Mr. Myers said, is that
the people who put the labs together know little about the hazardous
chemicals they are using.

Meth labs can be assembled almost anywhere in a matter of minutes.
Hotels, motels, campers and trailers are becoming popular lab
locations, he said. And everything needed may be purchased over the
counter.

Mr. Myers, Marion Sheriff Jim Webb and Lt. Barry Michael of the
Jackson Police Department were featured in the taping on the
agriculture campus at UT.

The training program, which touches on a variety of topics, is funded
partly by the state and partly by law enforcement agencies that
subscribe to receive the training materials, said Sherry Riley,
program specialist with UT's Law Enforcement Innovation Center.

"The center provides 32 annual in-service training sessions to 100
law enforcement agencies in Tennessee," Ms. Riley said. "This issue
(of meth use) is critical for agencies across the state."

Mr. Myers said he enjoyed the taping, though being in the spotlight
was a little out of character for him.

"I like to listen to what everyone has to say more than I (like to)
talk," he said.

Mr. Myers started as a full-time police officer in the fall of 1994
at the Palmer Police Department. In 1997, he worked as a patrol
sergeant and handled a narcotics dog for the Gruetli-Laager Police
Department.

A year later, he went to work for Marion County. He served as a
patrol deputy there for eight months, then was promoted to chief
investigator and acting chief deputy.

Currently, he is the department's Drug Task Force commander and has
participated in over 300 methamphetamine investigations.