Los Angeles Police Department
Drug Recognition Expert Unit
Specialist Reserve Officer Michele Sapper, became a reserve with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in 1991. She is currently a speaker on Driving Under the Influence (DUI) for LAPD and the Los Angeles County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving(MADD). Michele was seriously injured in a collision with a four time DUI offender on May 1, 1984.
Since about a year after the collision, she has spoken about impaired driving and how her life has changed. She spoke as an independent speaker until 1990, when she became part of the Speakers Bureau for MADD. With MADD LA County, she has spoken to high school and college assemblies; community groups, and service clubs. She also has participated in MADD's Victim Impact Panel (VIP). This is where several DUI victims speak to first and second time DUI offenders as part of their court sentence. In 1997, MADD LA County formed an Auxiliary Board and selected Michele as its' Law Enforcement Liaison.
Michele has made presentations with LAPD since joining MADD in 1990. In 1991, she was asked by the LAPD to serve in their reserve corps as a Specialist Reserve Officer. Over the years, she has made presentations to roll calls, in-service training, and DRE schools. Michele's presentation has been certified by the California Commission on Police Officers Standards of Training for one hour of continuing education credit. In 1996, Michele was the featured luncheon speaker for the second annual NHTSA/IACP Drugs and Impaired Driving Training Conference in Aspen, Colorado.
Michele has heard many times from Officers that her presentation is a reminder to them of why they went into Law Enforcement. When officers are scheduled to be end of watch in ten minutes and they encounter an impaired driver, her program helps to remind them to do the right thing --to arrest the DUI. Each DUI arrest has the potential to save lives and prevent lifelong damage.
Michele recalls the first presentation she gave before a DRE school audience. She entered the classroom, and began reading the posters on the walls while she waited her turn to speak. The more she read, the more aware she became of the need to make officers aware that the symptoms for a head injury, were the same as most of the symptoms of a drug or alcohol impaired driver.
Michele sustained a serious head injury in the collision in 1984. She spent two months in a coma. Today, (13 years later) she still has quiet, slightly slowed speech. This usually causes audiences to scoot to the edge of their seats to hear her better. When speaking to large groups, the use of a microphone is a necessity. For her program she needs an overhead projector to display the following overheads: Michele before the crash; Michele's vehicle after the crash; Michele the first week in a coma; and a few rehabilitation photographs.
Michele was a Junior Psychology Major at California State University at Northridge before the crash. In 1992 Michele graduated the University of California, Los Angeles with a BA in Communication Studies, Interpersonal Communication emphasis.
Specialist Reserve Officer Michele Sapper
Los Angeles Police Department, Drug Recognition Expert Unit
227 North Lake Street, Room 201, Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213)485-8565 Fax (213)485-8551
You can contact Michele through her E-Mail
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This page was updated 2-21-98
Copyright © 1998 LAPD
