With April being alcohol awareness month, the Milan Police Department wanted to raise awareness and understanding of alcohol abuse and the dangers and consequences of driving while impaired.
The Milan Police Department completed a DWI checkpoint on April 14th with the goal of combating impaired driving, but also to educate the public of the purpose and necessity of checkpoints. The checkpoint produced 4 arrests of individuals with outstanding warrants and 2 arrests related to impaired driving.
On April 15th, Chief Carl Ustupski gave a presentation to the freshmen class throughout the day at Grants High School. The presentation covered what a DWI is, what happens when one is arrested for DWI, 7 drug categories and their effects on the human body, and field sobriety testing. The kids had many good questions and enjoyed the presentation throughout the day.
On April 16th, the Milan Police Department hosted a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) recertification class. A DRE is someone specially trained to recognize impairment in drivers under the influence of drugs other than, or in addition to, alcohol. Chief Ustupski is one of 12 DRE Instructors in the State of New Mexico and one of 1,636 in the country. The recertification training brought several officers from departments throughout the state to get recertified. Sgt. Sal Corral, Houston Police Department, presented on Dissociative Anesthetics. Sgt. Corral has presented all over the United States and is considered an expert in this field. Eric Martinez presented on the tragic death of his brother, Andrew “Wakeself” Martinez, who was killed by a drunk driver, and what his family has gone through since his brother’s passing.