Sgt. Robert "Bob" O'Brien
Bob is retired from the Minneapolis Police Department after 32 years of service, 24 of which were in the Traffic Division. He was among the first officers in the State of Minnesota to receive training in the Drug Evaluation Classification Program (DRE) sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Bob applied for and was accepted as an Instructor in the DRE Program and was involved in training officers in Minnesota and other states as the program evolved.

Bob became the first DRE Coordinator for the Minneapolis Police Department. In this position Bob developed the training and department guidelines for the DRE Program. He coordinated the instruction and solicited participation by the best and brightest officers. Bob worked with other city, county, and state organizations to promote and secure the DRE Program as part of Minnesota's traffic law enforcement training curriculum.

Due to the overwhelming demand for Drug Recognition education in the public and private sectors, Bob, Bryan and Doug co-founded Corporate Drug and Alcohol Specialists Incorporated, specializing in educating business on the signs and symptoms of drug influence. Demands from the industry have enabled us to take on a third partner, Chip Lemon, who has particular expertise in the "Alcohol Beverage Server" arena. To date, the partners have presented educational programs to hundreds of personnel in a multitude of fields, including education, transportation, communication, counseling, medical, liquor, hospitality, law enforcement, corrections, probation, insurance, and casinos. Today, they continue to address America's drug problem through Recognizing the Drug Impaired, "Last Call" Beverage Server Education, and Hospitality Crime Prevention programs. Bob and his partners are committed to providing the customer with the latest information, provided by the highest caliber of drug recognition instructors in the country.

Currently, in addition to being a partner in CDAS, Inc., Bob works with the MN Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety, as a Law Enforcement Liaison for the Safe and Sober Program. He is responsible for the coordination of traffic safety programs in the 11-county metro area and works closely with law enforcement administrators and officers in training and enforcement of traffic safety laws. Bob has developed training programs for law enforcement and the general public. Bob has been requested by NHTSA to present many programs to law enforcement in other states in addition to classes to promote evolving traffic safety issues. He also instructs Defensive Driving and Instructor Development "Train the Trainer" for the National Safety Council in which he has trained hundreds of instructors across the nation.

Bob has developed training programs that are used by many instructors, law enforcement, medical, and community trainers in Minnesota and elsewhere. Bob has also improved the "DOT Need to Know" training and has updated the program with the most recent federal laws regarding driver and owner responsibilities.