Drug Recognition Expert Training DRE Training Pays Off in Milan

MILAN, N.M. – Law enforcement agencies across New Mexico gathered at Grants High School on February 22 to undergo Drug Recognition Expert Training, on Feb. 23 Milan Police Department put that training to use and apprehended a suspect based off the techniques taught at this training.

Carl Ustupski, Milan Police Chief, is a Drug Recognition Expert in Cibola County. Keeping the streets protected from drivers who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol has been a key focus of his, even before becoming chief. Wanting to help aide his officers, and other departments in the state that were interested, Ustupski worked to bring a Drug Recognition Expert Training class to Cibola County.

As a drug recognition expert, law enforcement personnel learn about the different implications of drugs – from marijuana and methamphetamines, to prescription and all other manner of drugs. Attendees of the Feb. 22 training learned new skills and tests they can perform outside of the standard sobriety test, which gives them a better understanding of whether a person is under the influence of drugs, the tests can then help officers identify what their suspect is under the influence from.

As a DRE, officers learn about different interactions that come from drugs. “With this training we can build on potential indicators of drug use,” DRE State Coordinator Charles L. Files said. “Officers learn about the seven different drug categories, the general indicators from each of these and we go through how to identify them in individuals.”

DRE training is a grueling course, according to Chief Ustupski, and it isn’t a requirement for employment at Milan Police Department. The chief said that this is simply a supplemental training that his officers can use to increase their knowledge and help bolster the department’s arsenal of crime fighting and crime suppression tools.

Who attended this training?

This DRE training was available to every police department in the State of New Mexico. No invitations went out to any department, the only requirement was that they sign up on https://nmdre.org/ Police departments across the state can use the website to find when there are more trainings coming and sign up.

Milan Police Department attended the event, along with the Cibola County Sheriff’s Office, Ramah Navajo Police Department, Acoma Police Department, New Mexico State Police, and McKinley County Sheriff’s Office. Several other departments from across the state also attended.

Bringing all of these departments together allows for networking between departments, so they can better understand the difficulties each of them face, and it gives them the opportunity to connect with another.

“If we ever come across something – a situation – that we are unclear about, we can always reach out to one of these other departments and the guys we meet at this training,” Chief Ustupski said. The DRE training does more than just train officers to better identify drivers who are under the influence, but gives them extra tools to better tackle issues they come across.

Training that works

The day after he successfully completed the first round of DRE training, MPD Officer Joshua Pacheco was able to not only employ the skills he learned, but get an arrest from it.

Officer Pacheco observed as couple stepped outside of their vehicle, verbally arguing, on Feb. 23. Pacheco noticed several children inside the vehicle, and as he approached the car the smell of narcotics became noticeable.

The more he listened, Pacheco could tell that both the man and woman had slurred speech. Pacheco had the couple undergo a field sobriety test, and when it was obvious the couple was influenced by a little more than just alcohol, he used the advanced tactics he learned to from the training.

The DRE training gave him the ability to do an advanced field sobriety test which helped Pacheco identify three potential drug categories. Discovering drugs and paraphernalia inside the car, Officer Pacheco placed the male, identified as Devin McBride, under arrest. MPD cautioned that all people are innocent until proven guilty in a court. “I felt a lot more comfortable making this arrest” after completing the training, Officer Pacheco said.

Chief Ustupski explained that the training was always to make the village safer; that he was proud of his officers for taking the training seriously and excited for Officer Pacheco to make this arrest.