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Officers to receive drug recognition training
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Warren County is considering sending four law enforcement officers to a special training course which will qualify them to identify people who are impaired on substances other than alcohol.Local prosecutor Darrell Julian, who works in District Attorney Lisa Zavogiannis’ office, attended a meeting of the county’s Safety Committee on Monday to inform commissioners about the classes which will be available in Tennessee next year. Those who complete the course successfully will be certified as drug recognition experts (DRE), and will be able to testify in court as expert witnesses.“It’s really advanced training for our local law enforcement,” Julian said. “And the critical aspect of it is that in our DUIs, we’re seeing an enormous number of people who are impaired driving on medications that are prescribed by their physicians, over the counter medications, illegal substances or a combination thereof, with or without alcohol.“And most of the officers basic training, as far as field sobriety tests they’re instructed on, is to assess whether someone’s impaired by alcohol,” Julian continued.