ENTERPRISE — Two Enterprise Police Department officers have earned plaudits from the Oregon Department of Transportation for their work in identifying and arresting drivers who are alcohol- or drug-impaired.

The two officers are Jacob Curtis and George Kohlepp, who got the attention of ODOT officials as part of a statewide effort called Oregon Impact, which provides grants to law-enforcement agencies with an eye toward reducing impaired and distracted drivers.

As part of the paperwork involved in the grant, ODOT reviewed eight DUII arrests by Curtis and Kohlepp in July and August 2022. Six of the arrests were drug-related.

The numbers caught the eyes of state officials.

“It’s very impressive,” said Ryan Stone, impaired driving program manager for ODOT. “A pretty impressive output for city of Enterprise officers,” especially considering the size of the Enterprise police force. “It showed me that they were putting in the dedicated effort to actually go out and make the community safer.”

Stone was so impressed that he sent a message to Kevin McQuead, chief of police in Enterprise.

“I reviewed reimbursement claims from around the state, and the efforts of your officers, George Kohlepp and Jacob Curtis, stood out among others,” Stone wrote to McQuead.

Stone also was impressed that, in 2022, Curtis attended Drug Recognition School, which helps law enforcement officers identify telltale signs that someone is under the influence of drugs. Curtis traveled to Medford for the class, and Stone attended it as well. Stone said Curtis had a “high rate of achievement in the class.”

Stone said that Curtis came to the class “with the enthusiasm and motivation we see from young officers. I think he’s on his way to becoming a real leader in the law enforcement community in this corner of the state.”

Stone added that officers with drug-recognition training are in short supply throughout Eastern Oregon, making Curtis’ achievement all the more notable.

McQuead shared the pride for his officers: “I’m extremely proud of my guys and the efforts they’re

making.”

Curtis said getting the drug-recognition training was something he wanted to do after he developed a passion for tackling impaired-driving investigations. In 2022, he nabbed 22 DUII suspects. He said the training helped him recognize additional cases in which a driver is under the influence of drugs other than alcohol.

“I would say that most of my DUIIs have involved drug use, and not just alcohol. It only takes one crash, one fatality to impact our community,” he said.

DUII enforcement is increasingly important, Stone said, as the number of DUIIs is up substantially, along with the number of impaired driving crashes.

“Over the last few years the numbers have been trending in the wrong direction,” he said.

The information below includes the total number of crashes, fatalities and people injured in crashes in Wallowa County in which at least one driver was determined to have a blood alcohol concentration greater than .08% and/or at least one driver had been using drugs. Note that “impairment” by drugs is not known or inferred by the data available. The trends observed in this data are consistent with those in most parts of Oregon. Data for 2021 and 2022 is not yet available. 

• 2020: 11 crashes, 5 fatalities, 7 people injured

• 2019: 29 crashes, 4 fatalities, 18 people injured

• 2018: 2 crashes, no fatalities, no injuries

• 2017: 3 crashes, 1 fatality, 3 people injured

• 2016: 1 crash, no fatalities, 1 person injured

Source: Oregon Department of Transportation