Feature Stories

Utah narcotics officer dies from pancreatic cancer: Story update

Rick Dukatz, a former Utah narcotics officer, died on Thursday after battling pancreatic cancer; cancer that he attributed to his exposure to meth lab chemicals. He was diagnosed with the deadly disease in October. Sadly, Dukatz leaves behind a wife, four sons, a daughter and a grandson.

Dukatz served 10 years as a member of the Murray police department SWAT team and 3 years working with the DEA. Over the course of those years, he responded to several meth lab incidents; incidents that he felt caused him to contract pancreatic cancer. The Murray police department can’t confirm that his allegations were true, however they do think that Dukatz should be included in the state’s meth lab health study.

One hundred police officers, both current and former, have come down with illnesses that may be tied to their exposure to meth labs. The death of Rick Dukatz adds one more to the list of officers who have lost their lives as a result of mysterious illnesses. In 2005, Jose Argueta died from esophageal cancer. Salt Lake County sheriff’s deputy Jade Pusey also died in 2005 from a rare form of cancer. In 2005, officers filed a lawsuit alleging that their illnesses were caused by their exposure to hazardous meth lab chemicals. Susan Dunn, attorney for the officers, said that the officers, some in their 30s, have contracted serious health problems related to their gall bladders and several kinds of cancer, including kidney and esophogeal cancers.

In years past, police officers, drug enforcement agents, emts, firefighters and others involved with busting and cleaning up meth labs, entered active meth labs homes without any concern about their health. Running in to an active meth lab without respiratory gear and head-to-toe hazmat suits was a common practice. An officer in Scioto County, said all that he used to put on before entering a meth lab was some rubber gloves. Back then, officers thought that as long as the meth lab smell wasn’t too bad, they didn’t feel they were any danger. Officers downplayed the warnings about the chemicals then. They don’t any more, now that they see what’s happening to their fellow officers.

Today, they’re covered from head-to-foot with hazmat gear and the only air they take in to their lungs comes from the oxygen tank on their backs. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help those who worked “in the days” when that wasn’t standard practice. Veteran officers now hope and pray that they don’t succumb to the kinds of illnesses that they see happening to their comrades.

References:

Dujanovic,Debbie, “Police officers file suit over meth lab exposure”, 6/27/05, http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=309&sid=77026, accessed 12/19/08

Reavy, Pat, “Murray Narcotics Detective dies of Cancer”, 12/18/08, accessed 12/19/08, http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705271522,00.html

“Meth lab cleanups, toxic hazards for law enforcement”, 06/10/2006, http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=news/local&id=4256680

Click here to read our earlier story about Rick Dukatz

Fast Facts

Facts and figures about the meth epidemic in America

The National Association of Counties found that methamphetamine is the number 1 illegal drug problem for 47 percent of the counties in the United States, a higher percentage than that of any other drug.

Methamphetamine an easily manufactured drug of the amphetamine group, is a powerful and addictive central nervous system stimulant with long-lasting effects.

4 out of 5 county sheriffs report that, while local methamphetamineproduction is down, methamphetamine abuse is not ( 1/2 of the Nation’s sheriffs report abuse of the drug has stayed the same and nearly 1/3 say that it has increased).

The highest rates of methamphetamine use among all ethnic groups occurs within Native American communities. The consequence of methamphetamine use by many young adults in the Native American community has been death, including methamphetamine-related suicides.

Crime related to methamphetamine abuse continues to increase, with 55 percent of sheriffs reporting increases in robberies and burglaries during the last year.

Most illegal methamphetamine available in the United States is produced in large clandestine laboratories in Mexico and smuggled into this country.

Methamphetamine labs are costly to clean up in that every pound of methamphetamine produced can yield up to 5 pounds of toxic waste, representing a public danger to adults and children.

The profile of methamphetamine users is changing, as 3/5 of the Nation’s sheriffs report increased methamphetamine use by women and 1/2 of the Nation’s sheriffs report increased use by teens.

In surveys on the abuse of methamphetamine among teens, many of the respondents said that the drug was easy to get and believed there is little risk in trying it.

Other National Association of Counties surveys have shown that methamphetamine also places significant burdens on local social service and health care resources, increasing out-of-home placements for children, sending more people to public hospital emergency rooms than any other drug, and producing an ever-growing need for methamphetamine treatment programs.

Information from The Library of Congress website

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