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Undercover officer fights high-profile problem

Heroin is the headline almost every day in America, but we don't hear about the undercover officers who risk their safety every day to help get heroin off the streets. One TPD vice officer is part of a team of officers that do just that.

TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Heroin is the headline almost every day in America, but we don't hear about the undercover officers who risk their safety every day to help get heroin off the streets.

One TPD vice officer is part of a team of officers that do just that.

The officer has asked that her identity not be revealed because of the danger that goes into doing her job. A job that included staking out drug dealers, prostitutes and people looking to pay for them.

It's a cycle police officers are finding difficult to keep up with. The drug deals, the prostitution that often helps pay for the habit, and the habit feeding the prostitution.

.The officer is always in touch with her fellow officers about where she is going before she starts her day, which takes her all over Toledo.

She says a part of town along Broadway in the city's east side is a hot spot for drug deals and prostitutes, especially at some carry-outs and gas stations.

She is always on the lookout for something that doesn't seem right, like a man who jumps out of a car and into another with a woman.

"Can you see if you can get a crew up here, East Broadway? Got a white male, just got into a blue jeep with a female," the officer calls over the radio.

After she puts in the car she follows the jeep, careful to stay at least one car behind it so she is not seen.

Then, other officers arrive.

"How do you want us to play this out?" asks a unit that is now following the jeep.

"It's just that cat and mouse, you know? So we'll let them take it now," the officer says of the chase.

The drive of the jeep makes an illegal traffic move when police try to pull her over, and officers are out in seconds.

An arrest is made quickly in the middle of the street. The reason for the arrest was over two grams of cocaine sitting in plain sight in the vehicle.

The man in the passenger seat was charged with a misdemeanor. The woman driving the jeep claims she was an unwitting party and is not facing any charges.

These officers are so experienced at seeing unusual behavior that they can spot it right away, even things that might look normal to the average person.

The officer says days like this are slow for them. She also says a couple more units of officers would be useful in keeping up with the drug epidemic that's making the streets unsafe for many families in these neighborhoods.

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