WASHINGTON COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT RECEIVES $9,000 GRANT FOR NIGHT
VISION SCOPE

Officer Doug Gregg takes aim using the Washington County Sheriff's
Department's new night vision scope as Officer Eddie Graybeal, left, looks
on. Photo by Tony Duncan.

It's been nearly a week since the Washington County Sheriff's Department
received its new methamphetamine truck, and already the department has been
awarded another new device to make its operations all the more clandestine.

A $9,000 grant by the Southern Precision Armory was awarded to the
department's Special Weapons and Tactics team to provide it with a valuable
tool in the fight against crime.

A night vision scope, primarily mounted on one of Lt. Keith Sexton's team's
sniper rifles, will provide assistance in the collection of evidence and
high-tech surveillance of a crime scene.

Sheriff Ed Graybeal was on hand Thursday as Sexton and his SWAT team gave
an up-close look at their new weapon.

"Basically, I happened to be looking on their Web site one day and decided
to apply for the grant to get one of the scopes," Sexton explained.

"The grant was based on agency size, the number of callouts we receive and
what the scope would be used for. So I submitted the application and we got it.

"We were the only department in Tennessee chosen, and this grant was
available to departments around the country."

Graybeal said that with the rise of such domestic terrorism threats, the
grant for this scope was something that was needed to assist the
department. It will be a key in handling such domestic threats, as well as
fighting the rise in the manufacturing of methamphetamines in the region.

The scopes awarded by Southern Precision Armory were ones used by the
military that have been reconditioned to sell to law enforcement. They bolt
directly onto any regular scope.

"At this time, we have about three sets of night vision goggles," Sexton
said. "And they were about $3,500 apiece. So to get a piece of equipment
like this for free is great.

"We would probably use the scope for just about any call we receive, mostly
night-time operations, drug business."

Sexton explained how SWAT teams used one of these reconditioned night
scopes to locate a man wanted for murder in Florida. The scope even found
an operational meth lab in the back of his car during surveillance.

"The use of this kind of surveillance equipment was used to catch (the
accused killer) in a trailer park and it scoped out a meth lab in the back
of his car in the process.

"Surveillance is key, especially in methamphetamine cases where the people
are always said to be on edge, coming and going, always on the lookout;
this scope can just let us sink back in the bushes until we can move in,"
Sexton said.

Both Sexton and Graybeal were grateful for the grant and looked at it as a
situation most departments around the region won't experience.

"Southern Precision Armory does tactical gear that most departments in the
region can't afford," Sexton said. "It's really good of them to help us
out. We're the only department we know of in Tennessee that has one of
these scopes."

"Especially a free one," quipped Graybeal.

"In the past we'd have to set the night vision goggles to the scopes. That
took some time," Sexton said. "This makes our job much easier."