LAW OFFICERS GET SUITED FOR SAFETY

EL RENO -- Law enforcement officials in Canadian County are getting suited
up and trained to more safely face one of their biggest problems --
methamphetamine labs. Meth labs have already proven to be dangerous. Jamie
Ward, a Yukon police officer who was poisoned by fumes she inhaled during a
January bust, is still too sick to return to work, said Ron Matthews,
department spokesman.

The Yukon Police Department, along with the departments in Piedmont and El
Reno, last week sent officers through training sponsored by the Oklahoma
State Bureau of Investigation.

The OSBI also has provided the departments with safety equipment. One set
of equipment -- including breathing apparatus and protective outerwear and
gloves, costs about $2,500. The state is providing a set of equipment for
each officer who underwent training.

The outfits look something like a space or diving suit, but it really is
necessary because of the dangerous chemicals used in the production of
methamphetamines, said Kym Koch, an OSBI spokeswoman.

Koch said the bureau has been able to support the police departments with
training and equipment through federal grant money.

The state has received $2.5 million in federal grants for the project. So
far, the bureau has trained about 200 officers from 80 agencies. They have
offered two training sessions this year. A third is scheduled for July.

The El Reno Police Department is the host agency for the District 4
Canadian County Drug Task Force, which is funded through the state attorney
general's office.

Law enforcement officers in the county are cooperating through the task
force to attack meth labs because it is such a big problem, said Lt. Ken
Brown of the El Reno Police Department.

"It's so easy to manufacture and it's so mobile," he said.

Brown's department has already put three officers through training and has
suits for each of them. Brown said he will be going through the training in
July.

Eventually, his department plans to have six trained officers.

The Yukon Police Department has put three officers through the training and
may send more in July.