Dangerous Undercover Operation

COPJOBS TM

DANGEROUS UNDERCOVER OPERATION NEARLY COSTS OFFICER HIS LIFE

By Dan Gilbert

Reprinted from the May 1997 issue of Copjobs magazine

It was a cold night in mid February, 1995. The time was approximately 2:30 am. The location was Northeast Oklahoma, in a motel near the turnpike. Undercover Narcotics Investigator Dan Gilbert, working the Northeast area of Oklahoma didn't know it, but he had just knocked on the door of two crazed, armed drug dealers, who had been shooting up on "crank". Inside the motel room, a male subject "Cisco" and his girlfriend had been traveling from one motel to another, dealing drugs, and ripping off prospective drug buyers. The two were dealing "crank", cocaine and marijuana. "Cisco" was the mastermind of the operation. His girlfriend was a local girl form Northeast Oklahoma. When the two were down on their luck in other parts of the country, they would always return to Oklahoma, where the girl had friends who would provide them with a safe place to stay. Investigator Gilbert was about to become the next victim of the multi-state crime spree. Dan Gilbert didn't appear to be a police officer. He looked like a regular 'ol Joe street user, looking for a fix to get him from day to day. Unaware of the danger that awaited him, Investigator Gilbert was continuing an attempt to purchase narcotics from the couple in the motel room. Investigator Gilbert had received information from a local police officer indicating possible drug activity at a local motel room. On this cold February night, Investigator Gilbert made that "long knock" on the motel room door, thus almost ending his life and his career as an undercover drug enforcement officer. As Investigator Gilbert knocked on the door, little did he know what awaited him on the other side. His knock was answered by a female voice, asking "who is it?". Investigator Gilbert replied with the alias he uses while undercover. The door opened slightly, just enough for a gun barrel to be placed against Gilbert's temple. A male voice ordered him into the room at gun point. Of course, Gilbert attempted to escape, however the man with the gun pushed the door wide open and made clear his intent to force Gilbert into the room or kill him. He told Gilbert that he would be killed if he did not comply. Investigator Gilbert didn't know it but "Cisco" and his girlfriend had been shooting up the "crank" and were paranoid about uniformed police kicking in their door at any time. Therefore, when "Cisco" came to the door he was armed and ready for battle. Investigator Gilbert was not wearing a uniform, and he wasn't known in the area to be a cop. But, "Cisco" was concerned about a pair of black cowboy boots that Gilbert was wearing. Believing the boots to be the same type that police officers in the area often wear, and high on drugs, "Cisco" was suspicious of Gilbert. Inside the room, Investigator Gilbert was held at gun point and threatened with a large knife and other weapons. His captors told Gilbert that they were going to kill him. "Cisco's" girlfriend continued to smoke marijuana, in addition to already being high on "crank". She repeatedly urged her boyfriend to shoot officer Gilbert. After some fast talking and some quiet prayers to God, the one and a half hour ordeal ended. Investigator Gilbert was able to leave the motel room with his life, and an ounce of "crank"! He convinced the drug dealing couple that he was not a police officer, but rather a street drug user, just looking to purchase a fix. Later that same night, thanks to Gilbert's investigation, the local police department served a search warrant on the same motel room. The gun, knives and drugs were discovered and taken into custody. "Cisco" was later located in New Mexico, where he had been arrested for selling "Turkey dope". He was transported back to Oklahoma, where his girlfriend turned State's evidence against him. "Cisco" is now serving several years in the State penitentiary. His girlfriend, too, is serving time. Investigator Gilbert was able to work undercover in the area for several more months. During one of the largest warrant sting operations in the area for 1995, over eighty persons were arrested and more than one hundred criminal charges were issued. Officer Gilbert has fourteen years of law enforcement experience. Court records indicate he could have taken action twice while being held against his will. However, his experience and ability to deal with this dangerous threat allowed for a better outcome. Every fifty-two hours, a law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States. One hundred-fifty-seven police officers died last year alone and another two hundred were injured in the line of duty. Each day within this state and across the country undercover drug enforcement officers place their lives on the line. The story you have just read is just one case. Many other officers have experienced a close call with death, in the name of the state, in protecting our rights each day so that someone else may enjoy their life.