Panama City Beach Police to use new K9 dogs and crime chambers to crack down on drug use during spring break

Panama City Beach, Florida – Thousands of vacationers are expected to hit Florida beaches in the next few weeks.

Spring shenanigans, wild parties and underage drinking are nothing new to Sunshine State officers, but the Panama City Beach (PCB) police chief says fentanyl raises the risks.

“Today’s spring break is not spring break 20-30 years ago,” Chief J. R. Talamantes said. “Today’s spring break brings a different level of violence in many ways.”

Last year, the Talamantes department saw just that, when officers made more than 160 arrests in a single spring break weekend.

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“Our city has just been invaded by stupid people doing stupid things,” Talamantes said. “They came specifically to try and harm our community.”

With fentanyl increasingly showing up in party drugs that dealers are trying to sell to spring break goers like Adderall and Xanax, the PCB police department is stepping up its drug enforcement efforts.

“We have expanded our K-9 programs,” Talamantez said. “We used to have four fangs. We now have eight because we understand the importance of aggressively curbing drug-related crimes.”

The PCB Police Department now has the largest K-9 unit in Florida.

In addition to K-9, the police department also uses crime cameras to monitor hotspots.

“We used this method last year and have had great success,” Talamantez said. “Like many departments, we are also struggling with a shortage of officers. It helps us with extra eyes.”

Talamantes says that by watching the cameras, officers can determine when the beach crowd is about to get out of control. “We can dispatch our officers before the emergency call is called,” he said.

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All PCB officers also carry Narcan, a nasal spray that can revive a person with an overdose of opioids, including fentanyl.

In central and southern Florida, drug prevention groups, including the Florida Harm Reduction Collective (FLHRC), distribute narcan to beachgoers and business owners.

“We’ve seen hotspots – Clearwater and St. Pete Beach – two of the hottest areas with very scary overdose numbers,” said FLHRC chief executive Shelby Meaders. “We need to take the initiative to reach out to people and get Narcan into the hands of people who will use it to save lives.”

Drug prevention experts say “spring break thinking” can easily lead students to try drugs they don’t normally use.

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“The biggest problem during spring break is risky behavior,” said Denise Manassa of CDAC Behavioral Healthcare, a substance abuse prevention and education agency in northwest Florida. “During spring break, there was a mentality about wanting to have a good time, but vacationers need to know that fentanyl kills. We want them to enjoy our beaches while still returning home to their families.”

Chief Talamantez also says that if anyone overdoses in Panama City Beach, their dealer will be charged with murder.

“You come to this beach to commit crimes, you are not going to check into your hotel,” Talamantes said. “You’re going to check in jail.”