Clemson University Police Department (CUPD) Officer Natalie Thompson recently earned Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) certification. Thompson is the first CUPD officer to earn the designation since 2015 and one of just 135 officers to hold the certification statewide.
“Officer Thompson’s passion for saving lives through reducing impaired driving has been apparent since the first time I met her,” said Chief of Police Jason Bruder. “Her focus on completing this course is a testament to her dedication to her craft, and I look forward to her continued efforts.”
The DRE designation further reinforces Officer Thompson’s commitment to impaired driving enforcement. The second-year officer was recently named the statewide Officer of the Year for DUI enforcement efforts for CUPD’s agency size. In April 2025, Thompson was named the statewide Rookie of the Year for DUI enforcement.
The DRE certification provides officers with the knowledge and skills necessary to recognize the effects of seven categories of drugs, administer the 12-step drug influence evaluation, and interpret the results of the evaluation.
The drug-influence evaluation allows officer to evaluate an individual for suspected drug impairment in a similar way that standard field sobriety tests evaluate alcohol impairment. She recently conducted her first evaluation as a DRE, resulting in a DUI arrest.
The program also teaches officers to document the results of the drug influence evaluation in narrative format and to testify as an expert witness in drug influence-related cases.
Thompson made 43 DUI arrests in 2025, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the department’s total DUI arrests, after totaling 21 DUI arrests in 2024 in just under six months with CUPD.
