Pedestrians are cited at Pennsylvania DUI checkpoint

Perry, PA

There's no better way to encourage people to not drink and drive than citing people for walking while intoxicated when they get near a DUI checkpoint intended to nab drunk drivers.

It's all about the Benjamins, baby.

Nudity, sexual acts and bags of cocaine on the dashboard are a few of the odd sights DUI experts have seen at checkpoints.

George Geisler Jr. of the Pennsylvania Driving Under the Influence Association tells the story of a driver who pulled up alongside a police vehicle before the checkpoint was even set up and confessed: "You've got me. I'm drunk."

But no one had heard of someone getting cited with public drunkenness while walking near a DUI checkpoint. Authorities said they thought the two pedestrians cited Saturday morning in Perry County were the first.

"That is a rather unique occurrence," said Geisler, who worked his first checkpoint in 1996. He and C. Stephen Erni, the executive director of the DUI Association, have manned checkpoints, and they run classes training police statewide how to effectively enforce the state's laws against driving under the influence.

"Most people, if they are walking and see a sobriety checkpoint, they go the other way," Erni said. "It's the first time I've heard of somebody walking through a sobriety checkpoint."

The two pedestrians, who were cited between midnight and 2 a.m. Saturday, were walking along and on state Route 34 in New Bloomfield when they were stopped at the checkpoint set up there, state police said. State police didn't release the men's names.

"We were not looking for them," said Cpl. Joseph Cigich of the state police in Newport. "They drew attention to themselves. If they had not been visibly drunk, we probably would not have had any encounter with them."

Cigich, who was at the checkpoint, said the men were staggering and holding each other up as they wove between the street and the berm. Both took breath tests and tested above the blood-alcohol limit at which drivers can be charged, Cigich said.

The two, who had parked their car nearby, were in danger because of their intoxication and were cited because of their behavior, Cigich said.

"It's obviously not against the law to walk after having a drink," he said. "But if you are intoxicated to the point you are creating a safety hazard, we have to get involved."

Perry County has been using DUI checkpoints for about two years, said District Attorney Charles "Chad" Chenot. This was the first time Chenot had heard of someone walking through a checkpoint.

Fran Chardo, a first assistant district attorney in Dauphin County, also could not recall hearing of someone walking through a DUI checkpoint. He said it's a person's behavior, not just drinking, that would leaded to charges.

"Being intoxicated in public is not the crime. It requires a little bit more than that," Chardo said. "The law requires intoxication to a degree that you cause a danger to yourself, others or property."

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DWI arrests: Good or bad sign for DWI industry?

Albuquerque, NM

The more DWI arrests the better, right? It depends on the spin.

According to the DWI industry, tons of DWI arrests are proof that enforcement efforts are effective and the tax dollars used to fund them are well spent. DWI arrests also are proof that the DWI industry's prevention efforts are a dismal failure.

What do you think?

After another DWI-related crash in Albuquerque Friday morning, many are wondering if anti-DWI commercials are working and if the state can do more to battle the problem.

The latest crash happened after a 24-year-old man led police on a chase that ended with the suspect crashing his truck into a wall in the South Valley. Officers who searched the man's car found open beer cans inside.

The incident is just the latest in an ongoing game of cat-and-mouse between officers and drunk drivers in Bernalillo County. So far in 2008, officers have arrested 5,046 people for driving under the influence. That averages to about 19 arrests per day.

Linda Atkinson of the DWI Resource Center say she doesn't like hearing new reports of DWIs, but does like seeing offenders thrown behind bars.

"It's a duel edge sword. I'm mean, it's a good thing we're getting them off the road. But it's a bad thing, because they're still drinking and driving," she said.

DWI Sgt. Angel Torres of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office also feels arrest numbers, which could match 2007's, are a mixture of good and bad.

Both Albuquerque police and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office plan more checkpoints and DWI patrols this year.

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Cop busted for DWI in sobriety checkpoint he legally could have avoided

Franklin, NH

This cop's hypocrisy is exceeded only by his stupidity.

His stupidly in voluntarily entering the DWI sobriety checkpoint after passing signs alerting it was ahead and knowing it was legal to turn off the road is exceeded only by the stupidity of the cops who arrested him in thinking anyone would believe their statement that he "did inform [the officers conducting the checkpoint] he was a police officer, but he did not try to use that to get out of the DWI."

Huh? Why else would he tell them he was a cop?! It's not like an accountant, mailman, secretary, or carpenter would tell the cops what they did for a living upon arriving at a DWI sobriety checkpoint into drove voluntarily after arrogantly ignoring signs warning it was ahead. Does anyone really think he would have driven into the checkpoint if he didn't think that he could play the cop card and get a free pass?!

Kudos to the stand-up officers who proved themselves honorable professionals in upholding their oath. Their badges are shining a little brighter today.

An off-duty Newbury, N.H., police officer was arrested over the holiday weekend at a sobriety checkpoint in Franklin.

Police said Cpl. Brad Wheeler was driving on Central Street when he came to the checkpoint. Police officers said he acted as though he had been drinking and then failed a field sobriety test.

"I can only assume he saw the signs," Franklin Sgt. Lisa Carter said. "His options to turn off were obviously not used."

Under state law, a court has to approve a sobriety checkpoint, and police are required to give drivers an alternate route if they don't want to travel through it. Police said Wheeler chose to pass through and was waved into a strip mall.

"It's just a conversation with the motorist," Carter said. "If there are any signs that involve intoxication, he is moved into the Stage 2 area."

Police said after Wheeler failed the sobriety test, he was arrested, his car towed and he was put in a police holding cell.

The Newbury police chief wouldn't comment or say if the arrest has affected Wheeler's job. Residents said police should be held to the same standards as others.

"They are human. They make mistakes," said Vicki Warner, of Newbury. "But they still need to face the consequences."

Some residents said they have had good experiences with Wheeler.

"I have always known him as a great person," said Kelley Santti, of Newbury. "I've seen him in town as a police officer around here."

Franklin police said that while Wheeler did inform them he was a police officer, but he did not try to use that to get out of the DWI.

This was Franklin's first sobriety checkpoint in 18 years. Police stopped 213 vehicles and made 10 arrests, five for DWI.

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Officers’ time wasted at DWI checkpoints

Houma, LA

Ms. Longwell definitely has a point. It would seem ridiculous for the cops to try to catch bank robbers by standing on the street outside a bank and stopping everyone going inside...after publicizing their plan to catch bank robbers by standing on the street outside the bank and stopping everyone going inside.

Houma police spent a lot of officers’ time and taxpayers’ money last weekend to arrest just nine drunken drivers out of 330 cars stopped and inconvenienced at a DUI checkpoint ("Checkpoint in Houma results in DWI citations for nine drivers," May 10).

That is a meager 2.7 percent success rate.

In the fight to get drunken drivers off the roads, Louisiana law-enforcement agencies would likely make far more arrests if they spent their available patrol time roaming the streets looking for drunken drivers, rather than standing at roadblocks waiting for these drivers to come to them.

Because they are highly visible by design and publicized in advance, roadblocks are all too easily avoided by the chronic alcohol abusers that comprise the core of today’s drunken-driving problem.

Houma residents and taxpayers would benefit from employing the most-effective tactics to catch drunken drivers: roving police patrols.

Sarah Longwell
Managing director
American Beverage Institute
Washington, D.C.

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No drunken drivers netted in Kansas DUI zone

Topeka, KS

What would the DWI fear mongers at MADD have to say about this? No drunk drivers? According to MADD, the roads were teaming with them.

Twenty-seven vehicles were stopped in north Shawnee County on early Saturday during a check lane seeking to stop intoxicated motorists.
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However, no motorists were arrested in connection with driving under the influence of alcohol, said a statement issued by Cpl. Michael Wright of the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office.

The DUI lane was conducted on US-75 at the southbound exit ramp at N.W. 35th, Wright said. Deputies conducted the check lane.

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Arkansas county has new DWI slogan...

Benton, AR

Check out my 1/1/08 DWI slogans post. Without witty slogans, DWI/DUI enforcement campaigns just aren't nearly as cool. The big brains that came up with the slogan are the same big brains that issued a press release stating the campaign "is geared toward students on spring break" and "will continue through the summer."

In Arkansas, everyday is a holiday and spring break lasts all summer.

Benton County Sheriff's Office deputies and the DWI Task Force are taking part in the "Over the Limit, Under Arrest" program, according to a release from the sheriff's office.

The campaign starts nationally on Friday and Saturday and will include sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols throughout Benton County and will continue through the summer.

The event is to help focus attention on underage drinking and is geared toward students on spring break, the release states.

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Arizona cops arrest 2,300 drivers for DUI in Holiday crackdown

Phoenix, AZ

In a statewide effort, Arizona cops have stopped 32,000 drivers, arrested 2,300 for DUI, and issued 9,500 non-DUI citations.

Authorities participating in a statewide holiday drunken driving task force say they've now made more than 2,300 DUI arrests since the effort began last month.

On Friday alone, 182 drivers were booked on drunken driving charges.

The Governor's Office of Highway Safety coordinates the effort, which involves saturation patrols, DUI checkpoints and youth alcohol enforcement using officers from dozens of law enforcement agencies.

Authorities have stopped more than 32,000 drivers and issued more than 9,500 citations for driving offenses besides DUI.

Under a new state law, DUI offenders face a minimum 10 day jail term, fines and license suspensions and must install an ignition interlock device in their vehicles.

The task force continues through New Year's Day.

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DWI/DUI cops say, "Don't make us your designated driver."

Anne Arundel, MD

The Anne Arundel, MD Police come up with a great slogan for DWI/DUI prevention and favor saturation patrols over sobriety checkpoints.

No sobriety checkpoints are planned, but police still intend to arrest plenty of drunk drivers in Anne Arundel this New Year's Eve.

"We will have extra officers on duty, both uniformed and plain clothes," said Officer Hal Dalton, a city police spokesman. County officers said they will also beef up patrols throughout the extended holiday weekend.

Cpl. Mark Shawkey, a county police spokesman, said saturation patrols are just as effective, if not more so than checkpoints. They utilize several officers in patrol vehicles to spread out through a larger geographical area.

"Whereas, checkpoints focus on one main thoroughfare and are more limited in their scope," he said. More >>

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