An police chief in Calvin, Oklahoma could face charges for methamphetamine distribution after a nearly month-long investigation led to his arrest, authorities said Friday.
Calvin Police Chief Joe Chitwood was taken into custody Thursday afternoon after agents of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration found small amounts of meth in Chitwood’s Wetumka home, the bureau said in a release. Chitwood was booked into the Hughes County jail.
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Mark Woodward, bureau spokesperson, said Chitwood was not distributing much of the drug at a time.
“He might be selling small amounts to one other individual, from time to time, that’s what we can confirm,” Woodward said. “We’re not talking about pounds and kilos, it would be in the gram quantities, that you might see somebody try to purchase to feed their addiction.”
The investigation began in mid-April when the state narcotics bureau received information that Chitwood was both using and selling meth in Hughes County, according to the release.
“Meth is the leading killer among drug-related deaths in Oklahoma,” bureau Director Donnie Anderson said in the release. “And for a peace officer to be responsible for putting more meth on the streets is a disgrace to the proud men and women in law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to protect our citizens from the deadly consequences of substance abuse.”
Calvin, with a population of about 275 people, is in Hughes County in southeast Oklahoma.
