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Stoned? Drug cops can tell

Trained officers evaluate by behavior and testing.

By ANNE LINDBERG and WILLIE J. ALLEN JR., Times Staff Writers
Published September 9, 2007

Drug Recognition Expert Eric Schroeder conducts a field sobriety test on a woman stopped for speeding, driving with her lights off and twice stopping in the intersection at a traffic light on Park Boulevard. Schroeder used the moment to teach explaining the liabilities of drinking and driving as well as telling her she would need to find a ride home.
	[Willie J. Allen, Jr. | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Willie J. Allen, Jr. | Times] Eric Schroeder uses the Drug Identification Bible to identify a blue pill in his hand found on a DUI suspect at the Pinellas County Jail. [Willie J. Allen, Jr. | Times] Officer Eric Schroeder request permission to give a drug recognition test to an agitated DUI suspect in custody at the Pinellas County jail.

The woman had been in a traffic accident. Officers at the scene said she rear-ended another car. They had sent her to Northside Hospital to check for injuries.

Those officers also called in Schroeder, one of the Pinellas Park Police Department's six certified drug recognition experts. His job: to determine whether the woman was driving under the influence of either drugs or alcohol.

As a certified drug recognition expert, Schroeder is one of an elite crew. The 4,000 to 6,000 DREs in the United States have generally flown under the public's radar screen. That changed a couple of weeks ago when Schroeder arrested Buccaneers wide receiver David Boston and charged him with DUI.

Boston's arrest was based solely on Schroeder's say-so. Boston blew 0.00 on the Breathalyzer and refused to participate in the 12-step process DREs use to determine which of seven classes of drugs a person might have taken.

That left Schroeder with his observations of Boston's behavior and physical condition. Schroeder concluded Boston had taken a drug of some sort. He arrested him and took urine for testing.

Police said last Thursday that the results of the urinalysis backed up Schroeder's conclusions. The DUI charge against Boston would stand. But by early Friday, police still had not revealed what drug Boston allegedly took.

The DRE program was developed in the 1970s by traffic officers in the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPD Web site describes the DRE program: "This procedure trains selected officers to utilize a standardized 12-step evaluation procedure, that enables the officer to determine whether an individual is under the influence of drugs, and then to determine the type of drug causing the observable impairment. Importantly, the DRE procedure enables the DRE to rule in (or out) many medical conditions, such as illness or injury, that may be contributing to the impairment."

The LAPD says that DRE accuracy has been validated in two separate controlled studies. One was done by Johns Hopkins University and the other by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The program has since expanded to 32 states, the District of Columbia and several foreign countries including Canada, Australia, Norway, Germany and Sweden.

It's unclear when Florida joined the DRE program, but there are now about 140 in the state and 40 in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. Pinellas Park sent its first DRE officers for training in 2001.

Training is rigorous, Schroeder said. Officers must first become certified in traditional field sobriety tests, then attend a two-week school. During that time, officers must pass written tests and, after training, accurately evaluate 12 offenders before receiving certification.

The training teaches them to evaluate a person's condition to decide which of seven categories of drugs, such as inhalants, the suspect might have taken. The DRE does not make a conclusion as to the specific drug that might be involved. "We don't say, 'This person is on Xanax,'" he said.

Schroeder, 34, has worked for the Pinellas Park Police Department for a little more than five years. He began the application process in January and received his DRE certification at the end of June.

"It's something I've wanted to do with my career," Schroeder said Friday. "It's my goal to take as many impaired drivers off the roads to keep the public safe."

The process, he said, begins with the observations of the officer who makes the stop. Then, a traditional field sobriety test is run.

If there's cause, the suspect will be taken to Central Breath Test at the Pinellas County Jail.

After that, the DRE has a 12-step process to determine if the person might be on drugs. If the DRE thinks the suspect is on drugs, he asks for a urine test.

The urinalysis determines whether the drug recognition expert's assessment was correct.

Sometimes other officers call on Schroeder for his expertise. That's what happened Thursday when he went to Northside Hospital.

Schroeder spent about 45 minutes trying to calm the woman. When the hospital released her, Schroeder took her outside to perform field sobriety tests. She failed them all.

She was handcuffed but tried to fight when officers put her in the patrol car to be taken to Central Breath Test at the Pinellas County Jail.

While there, she began screaming and acting up. At one point, she was handcuffed to a bench. Later, several deputies had to help subdue her.

In the end, she refused all testing. So Schroeder arrested her and charged her with misdemeanor DUI. The woman is not being identified to protect her privacy related to possible medical issues.

The process took more than two hours, after which Schroeder went out to look for more impaired drivers.

[Last modified September 8, 2007, 22:04:46]