Pee Dee officers equipped to detect drugged driving

You might have noticed a warning on the label of your prescription drug bottle stating the dangers of driving while taking the medication.

It’s there for a reason.

And area law enforcement officers say those who ignore it are just as guilty of driving under the influence as someone who has been drinking at a bar all night.

“The law says you are breaking the law if you are driving while impaired. That’s it,” Florence Police Sgt. Mark Mims said. “It doesn’t say anything about whether what you’re taking was prescribed or not.”

Mims and other local law enforcement officials say drugged driving is a growing problem. But thanks to a relatively new program in South Carolina, some Pee Dee officers are now better equipped to handle it.

Mims is one of a handful of Pee Dee officers trained to recognize impairment in drivers under the influence of drugs other than, or in addition to, alcohol through the International Drug and Evaluation Program.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) originated the program in the early 1970s. Back then, LAPD officers noticed that many of the people arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) had very low or zero alcohol concentrations. The officers reasonably suspected that the arrestees were under the influence of drugs, but lacked the knowledge and skills to support their suspicions.

In response, two LAPD sergeants collaborated with various medical doctors, research psychologists, and other medical professionals to develop a simple, standardized procedure for recognizing drug influence and impairment. Their efforts culminated in the development of a multi-step protocol and the first drug recognition expert or a drug recognition evaluator (DRE) program.

South Carolina formally adopted the program in 2006.

As a DRE, Mims is trained in recognizing signs and indicators of drug use. From those signs, he is trained to identify drug impairment and accurately determine the category of drugs causing such impairment.

“We’re not medical professionals, but the whole matrix is based on medical foundations and human physiology,” Mims said. “This isn’t just something law enforcement officers got together and made up. And it’s not about looking at drugs. It’s about looking at people and being able to tell what kind of drugs they are impaired by.”

An officer must have successfully completed an approved course in the Standardized Field Sobriety Testing before beginning the three-phase Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) Program, which includes 16-hour pre-school training, the 56-hour DRE School and a practicals phase during which the candidate must complete a minimum of 12 drug evaluations under the supervision of a trained DRE instructor.

Of those 12 evaluations, the officer must identify an individual under the influence of at least three of the seven drug categories and obtain a minimum 75 percent toxicological corroboration rate.

The officer must then pass a final knowledge examination and be approved by two DRE instructors before being certified as a certified DRE.

Mims is now not only a certified practitioner, but also a certified state and national DRE instructor.

“This is no easy program, and they don’t let just anybody into it,” he said.

There are a combined total of 12 certified DREs in Florence, Darlington and Horry counties.

Some of those officers are troopers with the S.C. Highway Patrol, and Troop 5 Capt. Jo Nell said the program has been an effective tool in the ongoing war against impaired driving.

“It’s really been a great thing because we have a lot of people out there driving on medication,” Nell said.

“Having these officers is helping us detect drivers that are impaired by illegal drugs as well as prescription drugs, and it’s also given us a better awareness,” he said. “Now when we get a driver that’s obviously impaired but doesn’t register at all on the breathalyzer, we can call these guys in to determine what they’re under the influence of. It’s a great resource to have.”