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San Juan police to get anti-drug cartel training
Posted: 06.08.2011 at 7:05 PM
Katie Lopez

Katie Lopez is a reporter for Action 4 News.

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San Juan Sergeant Rolando Garcia described crime in the Rio Grande Valley as being unique to the rest of the state.

"We have pursuits in the Valley where they are tossing caltrops and where they send a decoy vehicle to throw off officers when picking up a load,” Garcia said. “It's different---the problems are more geographical."

Garcia said a pursuit might start in one city and quickly end up in another.

"The way the Valley is built its city, by city, by city, by city----you don't have one big department and then a few little ones," Garcia said. 

That means everyone needs to be on the same page.

"We've all got to work together as an agency to deter all of this crime,” Garcia said. “It's just going to be beneficial to have all of the officers on the same page."

These new trainings, unlike other in San Juan, are not geared toward a specialty group such as a SWAT team.

While these trainings will focus on more specialized training, they will be geared to the officers on the streets.

"This is going to be for the everyday officer--the one that works ten hours a day....for him to be ready to face those kinds of situations," Garcia said.

Situations like the 1,700 rounds of ammunition San Juan police officers seized during a routine traffic stop on Tuesday.

Ammunition, police said, that was headed to Mexico. 

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