CUPD was awarded the 2025 Agency of the Year Award in its agency size category by the South Carolina Department of Public Safety for excelling in the area of DUI arrests, DUI victim services, and anti-underage drinking programs.
Officer Natalie Thompson was named the statewide Department of Public Safety DUI Rookie of the Year in 2025. The award, a first for CUPD, recognized Officer Thompson for her highly impactful work and dedication towards impaired driving reduction.
Additionally, CUPD earned Gold Level status for the 2025 SCLEN Law Enforcement Challenge, recognizing its efforts and commitment to roadway safety and impaired-driving prevention. It was the fourth time CUPD earned Gold status for this program.
The Excellence in Policing & Public Safety (EPPS) Program through the Joseph F. Rice School of Law at the University of South Carolina is a legislatively funded effort to assist South Carolina law enforcement agencies, advance the police profession, and enhance the delivery of public safety services through collaborative training, assistance, research, and community partnerships.
The Executive Credential in Police Leadership (ECPL) was designed with extensive input from public safety professionals around South Carolina to be a rigorous, evidence-based training program that empowers current and rising law enforcement executives to lead their agencies now and into the future.
CUPD was fortunate to be among the first agencies collaborating on the development and launch of this 18-month program, with two of our Command Staff completing the ECPL in 2025. Congratulations to Lt. Cortney Wright and Captain Courtney Evans, who graduated from the program as members of the first and second cohorts, respectively.
Sgt. Steven Kennedy
Amber King
Jason Mason (1st Quarter)
Twana Wright (2nd Quarter)
Nicole Rife (3rd Quarter)
Jeremy "Kirk" Talley (1st Quarter)
Ryan Best (2nd Quarter)
Devin Milliganhawk (3rd Quarter)
Criminal Investigations Division
Communications and Records Division
Special Operations Division
Officer Aubrey Steele
Twana Wright
In 2025, CUPD was awarded grant funding through the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) to provide training for first responders on resiliency, mental and physical wellness and healthy life practices.
This funding will support the delivery of multiple training sessions over a two-year award period and provide valuable training to CU Public Safety team members, along with first responders from across the region.
This was CUPD’s first award under LEMHWA and marks a continuation of the agency’s sustained success in receiving and implementing programmatic awards supporting law enforcement mental health development and training. Delivery of this training will begin in Spring 2026.
In 2025, a partnership between CUPD, Clemson University’s Center for Public Safety Research (CPSR) and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) SC was awarded funding through the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program to develop and incorporate virtual reality training into the Crisis Intervention Training program delivered by NAMI in South Carolina.
Integration of the VR systems into the training modules provides a companion to the face-to-face roleplay scenarios, allowing participants to "live out” the experience of mental health crisis encounters through the lens of responding officers along with stepping into the viewpoint of the individual experiencing the crisis.
CUPD believes that the lessons learned through the use of this training tool will enhance the CIT/CRIT program delivery, and provide first responders across our state with a better understanding of the challenges associated with responding to mental health calls for service and interacting with individuals experiencing crisis. Delivery of this training began in January 2026.
