NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — In a video recorded on a body camera worn by a Noblesville police officer, given exclusively to 13News, you can hear the officer and another officer discussing suspected cocaine found during a traffic stop in March.
It's during that interaction, which occurred shortly after 2 a.m. on March 22, 2024, according to a time stamp on the video, when the officer wearing the bodycam suggested the other officer taste tests the alleged cocaine.
"Do a taste test. Come on. Get your pinky. Dab that up," the officer wearing the camera said.
"No, I'm good," the second officer replied.
"Dab it up," the first officer said again.
While he didn't see the video, Timothy Horty, executive director of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, said ingesting illegal drugs as a way to taste them goes against any department's protocol.
"We would teach two protocols. One would be outfitted with PPE. The officer would do a field test and determine what drugs may or may not be in his possession and the second would be more of a controlled environment where the officer would keep the drugs sealed and then take them into a laboratory where a technician under safer circumstances might test those narcotics," Horty said.
He said just handling illicit drugs in the field can be dangerous, let alone ingesting them.
"Well, we see overdose situations every day and an officer, if he or she came into contact with those drugs, you never know what's in them and so an overdose situation could very well be a possibility for the officer. Obviously, it's inadvertent and accidental, but the officer is no less in an overdose situation requiring immediate medical attention," said Horty.
Whether an officer could face disciplinary action for taste testing an illegal drug versus following protocol, Horty said that's up to each agency.
"To do anything other than take those drugs to a testing facility and immediately put them in a property room would not be the right protocols," said Horty.
13News reporter Chase Houle did reach out to the Noblesville Police Department and while they weren't available for an interview, they sent this statement:
"We have received your inquiry and can confirm that no official complaint has been filed regarding the information you provided. This matter will be reviewed to determine if any departmental violations occurred. We will not provide any further comments until the investigation is complete."