CDOT Honors Denver Traffic Officer With Centennial Award

State’s top drug recognition expert, John Blea, receives special award

John Blea

Photo courtesy of Nolte Associates Inc.

Denver traffic officer John Blea was recognized by the Colorado Department of Transportation as Colorado’s top drug recognition expert.

Nominated by Denver Officer Dan Dunn, Officer Blea received the honor for his continued dedication to the DRE program. Officer Blea was one of the first in the state to receive his DRE certification in 1988 and carries the distinction of Certification #1. During the last 20 years, he has mentored countless officers, conducted hundreds of evaluations and is considered a top expert in his field locally and nationally.

A drug recognition expert is an individual who has successfully completed all phases of the Drug Evaluation and Classification Program’s training requirements for certification as established by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Every law enforcement officer participating in the DRE program is assigned a certification number. Blea has the distinction of being the nation’s first DRE with a national certification; he continues with this title after 20 years in the program.

Since the program’s inception in 1988, more than 15,000 law enforcement officers in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have gone through DRE training. Less than 1% of Colorado Law Enforcement officers are considered drug recognition experts.