Algood Police Goes Through DUI Detection Training

The Algood Police Department hosted an advanced DUI detection training course in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Highway Safety.

Algood Police Chief Dale Armour said the department went through field sobriety testing last month and this is the next step in training. He said officers will learn how to discern if someone is driving under the influence and how to properly pursue prosecution.

“Anything you’ve got to do, you’ve got to articulate what’s going on,” Armour said. “What you see, what you smell, what you feel, you know, your senses. And then, of course, the exact way the tests have to be done; the field sobriety test. Every officer had to pass that this morning before they could continue with the advanced class.”

Armour said when assessing a potential DUI, the technical details become very important in the department’s ability to prosecute. He said 22 officers from Algood and surrounding areas like Cookeville and Overton County participated in the training.

“We try to host as much as we possibly can here,” Armour said. “We try to share all of our resources here with our local agencies here. Whatever we can, we will.”

He said the department has held a fruitful relationship with the Tennessee Department of Highway Safety. He said it provides Algood officers with overtime payment, training courses, and equipment purchases.

“To bring them back in here to teach classes is an absolute plus for us,” Armour said. “And we don’t have to send somebody to another area if we want to send somebody from the Algood Police Department if we’re hosting it here.”

A field sobriety refresher and the advance testing took place Tuesday in the court room at Algood City Hall.