The Troy Police Department is Restoring Their Undercover Drug Unit

Man: 1-800-LAW-1010. 1800law1010.com. Paul Harding, Martin, Harding & Mazzotti, on the horn.

Man: Happy New Year, Paul.

Paul: Happy New Year, guys. Good morning. Good morning.

Man: Quinn’s been following this story a little bit closer than me, but we sent you a copy. Troy Police in the process of restoring their drug unit after it was dissolved more than a year ago. The department says it’ll be focusing on low-level drug crimes now that the unit is restored.

Man: But David Soares just said he wasn’t gonna prosecute that, that stuff. Is there a difference between Troy and what the DA says? How’s that work?

Paul: Well, you know, it probably means what’s low-end drug use, right? So, I think that there is, you know…see the momentum that’s happening with marijuana, right? We can kinda see the writing on the wall. There’s gonna be more legislation. Probably gonna see some legalization of it, and so, at what point do they decide they’re gonna prosecute or not? And I think what they’re referring to in Troy here is probably a bit up from what David Soares is talking about, in terms of the low-end drug prosecution.

Man: Okay, so Troy might be like a hub or something.

Man: But does that mean more cracking down on or just different sentences for?

Paul: Yeah, it means more cracking down. You know, they’ve been short a whole unit. So I think there were five or six people, officers, who were part of this unit that was disbanded. You know, there was some controversy regarding entering a home without a warrant.

Man: That’s right.

Paul: There may be possible cover up, and there’s been…So, they just recreated the unit to add, you know, again, credibility to the group. And now they’re saying, “Listen, you know, folks out there who are participating in the drug world, we’re back, and we’re gonna be out looking for you. We just had lack of resources as of recent.”

Man: All right.

Man: I think this is an interesting statement, and I’m not sure I could disagree with it, and the, you know, the chief would know more than me, but a commandeer is small-time, low-level offenders are what causes shootings, are what causes fights, are what causes the paraphernalia on the streets.

Man: That’s what stuck out to me the story, too.

Man: It’s almost like preventative maintenance, in a way.

Man: Yeah, but I just wanted to have–

Man: But at what cost?

Man: …defined the small-time, you know? I mean, look…again, I’m gonna go with what Soares says about marijuana, what Cuomo says about marijuana, but there’s obviously a drug problem. We got people dying, and if it’s a problem in Troy, let them have them back, I guess.

Paul: I think they’re really talking about possession versus sale, right? So you get caught with some stuff, and again, you have a small amount. You know, again, the processing, the paperwork, we see the momentum with…now, the opioids, of course, are a different story. I think that you could be caught with a small amount, and if they think that you are connected to a larger group, yeah, they’re gonna come down on you hoping that you’ll flip. So, again, it takes time and resources, but again, momentum in the state is absolutely going to be less prosecution of the lower end drug offenses.

Man: Awesome. All right, thanks, Paul. Paul Harding from Martin, Harding, Mazzotti. 1-800-LAW-1010. 1800law1010.com. You’re really pumping out the new commercials, and I love every single one of them. Nicely done.

Man: Good job, Paul.

Paul: Thanks, guys.

Man: Quinn and Cantara, mornings on PYX 106.