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Kalkaska Deputy Trained And Certified As A Drug Recognition Expert, One Of 100 In State

“It’s not something that every officer gets to go to,” said Deputy Kyle Beaver.

A Kalkaska County Sheriff’s Deputy put in some hard work to become a certified Drug Recognition Expert.

As a DRE, he’s trained to spot people who may be under the influence of a variety of drugs. In an effort to keep more impaired drivers off the road.

Deputy Kyle Beaver is now one of only 100 certified DRE’s in the state of Michigan.

The Kalkaska County Sheriff’s Office has seen an increase in drivers who are impaired by drugs other than alcohol.

“It can be tricky at times to make that differentiation between alcohol and drugs depending on what that subject is on,” said Deputy Beaver.

But now as a Drug Recognition Expert, Deputy Beaver can determine which of seven drug categories the person is on by performing a 12 step test.

“There’s a variety of tests that’s involved in the Drug Recognition Expert evaluation and those are everything from checking someone’s pulse and body temperature, as well as their blood pressure, to just talking to the individual and observing their speech and estimating pupil size even,” said Deputy Beaver.

Checking someone’s pulse and using a stethoscope isn’t something you would normally see on a traffic stop, but they are now tools that deputy beaver can use to perform sobriety tests.

Having this training and certification means Deputy Beaver is on call all day, every day.

“What I bring back is just a great understanding of how drugs influence the human body, what indicators to look for and that’s just going to tremendously help our community just on everyday cases,” said Deputy Beaver. “It doesn’t have to be an impaired driver just anything that will help get drugs off our streets.”

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