On November 6, 2009, I had the honor of meeting with DREs and DRE Candidates from South Florida at a certification training event in Miami Beach, FL. Sergeant Luis Taborda of Miami PD supervised and conducted this event. Luis is to my immediate right. I gave a short overview of the history of the DRE program and discussed the development of some of the certification steps. We also discussed situations in which an officer is unable to conduct the classic 12 steps of the evaluation process, and how this is not necessarily fatal to the case. The key point I made was that if some of the steps are missing, the DRE must still reach the same level of certainty as he/she would in a full evaluation.My complements to Luis for the professionalism and leadership he showed during this training.
I had the pleasure of working with Sgt. Luis Taborda as a Miami-Dade County prosecutor. Luis is one of the best, most professional DREs and finest human beings you'd ever meet. He's been a dedicated DUI officer for almost 20 years and I've never heard anyone say a negative thing about him. I wish we had more like him. The community owes him a huge debt of gratitude.
ReplyDeleteStephen Talpins
PS-----Kudos also to Bob Jacobs (IPTM), Sandy Richardson (NHTSA), Chip Walls (UM Toxicology Laboratory) and Bobby Jenkins (MBPD Retired) who helped grow the program during the past two decades. Also, the incredibly dedicated folks at MDPD (Slimack, Closius, Zarraga, Ruffner, Liebowitz, et al). Can't imagine where the program would be without them. And, last, but not least, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, who encouraged and funded the most successfuly DRE hearing in the country and continues to give DUI cases the priority they deserve.
Steve's comments are right on point. In addition, Steve Talpin's historical and continuing commitment to the aggressive prosecution of DUI offenders, including drugged drivers, inspire all of us.
ReplyDeleteLuis and Tom Page. Two of my favorite DRE's!
ReplyDeleteI had the privilege of being in this photo. I am 4th from the left. I have a DRE forum on facebook, and I am honored to have had Tom Page post comments and photos on it.
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