CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The City Council is considering a proposal that would allow the Clarksville Police Department to use state grant funding to buy new oral drug testing equipment. The devices are handheld, allowing officers to take a driver’s saliva sample and test it for drugs on the spot.
During Thursday’s meeting, the council discussed the resolution, which would allow CPD to work with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the state’s Highway Safety Office to put the new equipment into use.
If approved, the agreement would outline how the agencies will collaborate and use grant funds to roll out the new testing tools. Officials said the technology would give officers another resource for roadside testing, helping improve public safety and enforcement. The tests would mainly be used in vehicular homicide and other major investigations.
Device tests for opiates, cannibis, cocaine
Police Chief Charles Burdine told the council, “The Clarksville Police Department has been selected as one of the first 24 agencies in the state to receive this equipment at no cost.”…