A how-to video on making meth turned up online and it was made by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The highway patrol is investigating how the video was leaked after Fox 2 News showed them that it was online. Captain John Hotz with the Missouri State Highway Patrol says the video was made in 2002 and was marked as “restricted access” for only law enforcement to see.
Other law enforcement on the front lines are speaking out in an effort to defend the video.
Jason Grellner, president of the Missouri Narcotics Officers Association, has seen the video a number of times and even used it to teach officer safety. Although people question why the video is extremely detailed and specific, Grellner, who is running to be the next Franklin County Sheriff, says it had to be that way for training.
“You don’t know when an investigator is going to step into this lab,” Grellner said. “You need to know hands-on what you’re doing because a simple mistake in a meth lab can kill you.”
“They need to know the process and what part of the process the cook is in so they know how to handle the chemicals for the safety of themselves and everyone around them; and this video has really helped with that.”
The video trained law enforcement to find and identify meth labs, which Grellner says saved the lives of officers and people in communities plagued by meth manufacturing.
“Because those labs didn’t explode, didn’t catch fire, they weren’t being inhaled by children or being inhaled by the elderly,” he said.
Not only that, but they were key in diminishing meth in the state. Officers are more aware of what a meth lab looks like.
