By Jim Bloch
St. Clair County Sheriff Matt King delivered the annual report of the Drug Task Force to the Port Huron City Council at its regular meeting May 13.
“The drug task force is a millage-run group,” said King, as heard on the recording of the meeting posted on the city’s website. “We have a millage every four years. It is up this August. The community supports the millage and the funds go to support the following positions.”
The task force consists of a lieutenant, two sergeants, nine deputies and a support staff, all from the Sheriff’s Department; two Port Huron police officers; one Clay Township police officer; one Marysville police officer; and one prosecutor and a support staff from the St. Clair County Prosecutor’s Office. The millage also pays for the operating costs of the force.
“Without the millage, those positions would be vacated for the most part,” said King.
The four-year tax that began in 2020 was .5610 mills – or about 56 cents for every $1,000 of taxable property value. It raised about $3.5 million per year.
U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection also contribute members to the team, but are not funded through the millage.
“The drug task force in 2023 took $3.5 million in drugs off the street,” said King.
The task force seized 87 weapons, conducted 68 search warrants and made 292 traffic stops.
“We investigated 747 complaints,” said King.
From 2021-present, the force has confiscated $6,830,000 worth of drugs and 551 weapons; executed 277 search warrants, made 1,264 traffic stops and investigated 2,823 complaints.
“If it weren’t for the drug task force, it would be up to the individual police agencies to try to handle all that, on top of the duties they already handle,” King said. “That’s a lot of police work. It’s not just drugs we investigate. It all bleeds over into other crimes.”
What happens to the confiscated weapons? asked council member Anita Ashford.
“The guns that are confiscated that were involved in crimes are destroyed,” said King. “If they are hunting rifles, they are sent out of county for auction.
Tips, information and witnesses after the fact flow into the task force from a supportive public, which is critical to successful police work, King said.
King said that sometimes during daytime drug raids, neighbors stand on their porches and cheer the officers.
With Flint and Detroit nearby, with an international border, a busy river and two major freeways, Port Huron and St. Clair County are hotspots for transporting and selling drugs. The task force will never stop drug use and sales in the county, but it will make the county uncomfortable for drug dealers, King said; the task force’s cooperation with the other law enforcement agencies in the county helps to make that possible.
St. Clair County voters will go to the polls Aug. 6 to vote on renewing the millage.
“Thanks for the update and keep up the good work,” said council member Bob Mosurak.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
