Flagstaff police received a $30,000 grant from the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety to enforce DUI laws.
According to information from the Flagstaff Police Department, the grant is meant to help staff enforcement and educational activities throughout the year. Officers will be devoted to work DUI details during times and days when DUI driving is highest -- holidays, homecoming, prom and graduation weekends. The grant will also help officers make educational presentations in schools and community events.
Between 2006 and 2008, Flagstaff police have made nearly 3,000 DUI arrests. During that period, 3 percent of the non-injury crashes reported in the city were alcohol-related. Year to date between 2008 and 2009, the city has experienced a 40 percent reduction in alcohol-related collisions -- a figure police officials believe correlates directly with pulling impaired drivers off the roads.
Source
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Arizona targets young DUI drivers
Arizona, known for its hard-edge approach to drunken driving, has issued grants to Pima County and Nogales to combat underage drinking and DUI.
Pima County received over $180,000 to focus on placing DUI checkpoints, track down outstanding DUI arrest warrants and operate liquor license sweeps. Nogales received about $70,000 to do the same.
As part of the enforcement, the local police officers will attempt to step up patrols in residential areas where underage drinking often takes place. They will specifically target young drinkers who are returning from Mexico, where 18 is the legal drinking age but IDs are rarely required for patrons even younger than that. Even the US State Department warns the drinking age is not enforced in Mexico uniformly.
The problem of underage drinking across the border affects Arizona, Texas and New Mexico commonly. A further concern today is the escalating danger of a trip to Mexico due to local drug wars that have lead to an increase in crime including homicide.
Police officers along the Southern border of the US are concerned for the safety of young people who venture to border towns, notably Tijuana, Tecate, Mexicali and Juarez to enjoy a night out with friends. Patrols will set checkpoints and engage in more traffic stops along routes popular when returning from these areas.
Source
Pima County received over $180,000 to focus on placing DUI checkpoints, track down outstanding DUI arrest warrants and operate liquor license sweeps. Nogales received about $70,000 to do the same.
As part of the enforcement, the local police officers will attempt to step up patrols in residential areas where underage drinking often takes place. They will specifically target young drinkers who are returning from Mexico, where 18 is the legal drinking age but IDs are rarely required for patrons even younger than that. Even the US State Department warns the drinking age is not enforced in Mexico uniformly.
The problem of underage drinking across the border affects Arizona, Texas and New Mexico commonly. A further concern today is the escalating danger of a trip to Mexico due to local drug wars that have lead to an increase in crime including homicide.
Police officers along the Southern border of the US are concerned for the safety of young people who venture to border towns, notably Tijuana, Tecate, Mexicali and Juarez to enjoy a night out with friends. Patrols will set checkpoints and engage in more traffic stops along routes popular when returning from these areas.
Source
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Proposed law would impound DUI vehicles
Last spring, Washington state and Whatcom County were held liable for damages of more than $5 million in a DUI case. In case you have forgotten I will help you to remember: A woman was arrested for DUI, she was supposed to have an ignition interlock device in her car but did not. Due to overcrowding at the jail she was not booked and due to overturned impound cases at the Whatcom County District Court level her car was not impounded.
So as a possible solution to the problem, the arresting trooper drove her a distance of approximately nine miles to her home and told her to stay there until she sobered up. Being a repeat offender, this individual immediately got a ride back to her car from someone and drove drunk for the second time in one night. This time she hit someone head on and almost killed that person. That person was Hailey French.
There is currently no law in Washington state that requires the impoundment or hold of a vehicle after a DUI arrest. There are jails all over Washington state that are too crowded to book and hold people arrested for DUI's so what some of these people do is go right back to their car and drive it home. That is a threat to public safety.After the judgment last spring, I started working with State Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale. We have written and proposed a bill to Olympia that will help prevent these occurrences from happening. It is House Bill 2565, "Hailey's Law."
The bill simply states that if you are arrested for a DUI then the vehicle you are driving will be impounded. If you are the vehicle owner then the vehicle will be held for 12 hours.
Why a 12-hour hold? Most DUI's occur in the middle of the night therefore making the vehicle available in the middle of the day during normal business hours. In addition, picking up any vehicle during normal business hours saves the vehicle owner money in "after hours" fees.
Why is the hold only for the vehicle owner? Under current state law only the vehicle owner may redeem an impounded vehicle therefore if you don't own the car there is not a threat of you redeeming it.
Why am I so involved? Yes, I am the owner of a towing company in Bellingham, but more importantly I have lived here since I was 6 years old. I went to school in the county and I am involved with many groups locally. My biggest fear as a tow operator is responding to an accident where I know the victim, let alone could have done something to help prevent it.
Must we wait until we know a victim before we work on resolve?
Please support HB 2565 "Hailey's Law' and do your part to keep Whatcom County safe.
Source
So as a possible solution to the problem, the arresting trooper drove her a distance of approximately nine miles to her home and told her to stay there until she sobered up. Being a repeat offender, this individual immediately got a ride back to her car from someone and drove drunk for the second time in one night. This time she hit someone head on and almost killed that person. That person was Hailey French.
There is currently no law in Washington state that requires the impoundment or hold of a vehicle after a DUI arrest. There are jails all over Washington state that are too crowded to book and hold people arrested for DUI's so what some of these people do is go right back to their car and drive it home. That is a threat to public safety.After the judgment last spring, I started working with State Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale. We have written and proposed a bill to Olympia that will help prevent these occurrences from happening. It is House Bill 2565, "Hailey's Law."
The bill simply states that if you are arrested for a DUI then the vehicle you are driving will be impounded. If you are the vehicle owner then the vehicle will be held for 12 hours.
Why a 12-hour hold? Most DUI's occur in the middle of the night therefore making the vehicle available in the middle of the day during normal business hours. In addition, picking up any vehicle during normal business hours saves the vehicle owner money in "after hours" fees.
Why is the hold only for the vehicle owner? Under current state law only the vehicle owner may redeem an impounded vehicle therefore if you don't own the car there is not a threat of you redeeming it.
Why am I so involved? Yes, I am the owner of a towing company in Bellingham, but more importantly I have lived here since I was 6 years old. I went to school in the county and I am involved with many groups locally. My biggest fear as a tow operator is responding to an accident where I know the victim, let alone could have done something to help prevent it.
Must we wait until we know a victim before we work on resolve?
Please support HB 2565 "Hailey's Law' and do your part to keep Whatcom County safe.
Source
Monday, February 15, 2010
Hailey's Law would impound Washington DUI vehicles
A bill proposed to the Washington state legislature would provide for the immediate impounding of a vehicle involved in a DUI arrest.
This is not the first such provision attempted in any state. New Mexico cities use the option at their discretion, and some cities in Arizona do the same. Utah uses a mandatory vehicle impound law called the "Not a Drop" law.
The suggested bill in Washington is named after Hailey French, who suffered life threatening injuries in a DUI accident last year. The situation is unique because French was injured by a driver who had been arrested for DUI just hours before that same evening. The driver was supposed to have an ignition interlock in her car from a previous conviction, but she did not have one.
The driver should have been taken to jail, but, since jails were overcrowded, the trooper instead had to deliver the driver to her home and ask she remain there for the evening. The driver did not follow this order, getting back into her car and eventually hitting French in a second DUI offense that night.
State Rep. Doug Erickson, R-Ferndale, is behind Hailey's Law. This law requires the vehicle of a DUI driver to be impounded for 12 hours, if the driver owns the vehicle. If the vehicle belongs to another owner, the owner may come pick up the car.
This bill aims to prevent a situation where a DUI driver could get back on the road hours after an arrest. Instead, the driver will have to wait until the next day at least to pick up the car. The fee to pick up the car can be high, which may serve as a deterrent to driving under the influence. Further, impound fees in other areas go toward combatting drunk driving through law enforcement funding.
Source
This is not the first such provision attempted in any state. New Mexico cities use the option at their discretion, and some cities in Arizona do the same. Utah uses a mandatory vehicle impound law called the "Not a Drop" law.
The suggested bill in Washington is named after Hailey French, who suffered life threatening injuries in a DUI accident last year. The situation is unique because French was injured by a driver who had been arrested for DUI just hours before that same evening. The driver was supposed to have an ignition interlock in her car from a previous conviction, but she did not have one.
The driver should have been taken to jail, but, since jails were overcrowded, the trooper instead had to deliver the driver to her home and ask she remain there for the evening. The driver did not follow this order, getting back into her car and eventually hitting French in a second DUI offense that night.
State Rep. Doug Erickson, R-Ferndale, is behind Hailey's Law. This law requires the vehicle of a DUI driver to be impounded for 12 hours, if the driver owns the vehicle. If the vehicle belongs to another owner, the owner may come pick up the car.
This bill aims to prevent a situation where a DUI driver could get back on the road hours after an arrest. Instead, the driver will have to wait until the next day at least to pick up the car. The fee to pick up the car can be high, which may serve as a deterrent to driving under the influence. Further, impound fees in other areas go toward combatting drunk driving through law enforcement funding.
Source
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Arizona DPS officer cited in Tucson for extreme DUI
An Arizona Department of Public Safety officer has been arrested on suspicion of extreme DUI.
Theodore Edwards, 44, was not on duty at the time and he was in a privately-owned vehicle, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
Edwards was arrested Sunday after a couple noticed him having a hard time getting into his vehicle in the Park Place parking lot, Pacheco said.As Edwards was backing his vehicle out, he nearly struck the couple’s car, they told police.
The couple followed Edwards as he headed south on Wilmot Road, traveling at a high rate of speed and nearly striking a median several times, Pacheco said.
They called police when Edwards pulled into the drive through of a Taco Bell at East 22nd Street and Wilmot.
Officers responded to the Taco Bell around 9:40 p.m. and made contact with Edwards who was still in the drive through, Pacheco said.
They conducted a DUI investigation and cited Edwards on suspicion of DUI, DUI with a BAC above .08 and extreme DUI.
He was released to his DPS supervisor who was called to the scene, Pacheco said.
His vehicle — a white Ford Expedition — was impounded.
By law, the legal limit is .08. A charge of extreme DUI is imposed when a person has a BAC of .15 or greater.
Tucson police declined to release what Edwards BAC was.
Source
Theodore Edwards, 44, was not on duty at the time and he was in a privately-owned vehicle, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
Edwards was arrested Sunday after a couple noticed him having a hard time getting into his vehicle in the Park Place parking lot, Pacheco said.As Edwards was backing his vehicle out, he nearly struck the couple’s car, they told police.
The couple followed Edwards as he headed south on Wilmot Road, traveling at a high rate of speed and nearly striking a median several times, Pacheco said.
They called police when Edwards pulled into the drive through of a Taco Bell at East 22nd Street and Wilmot.
Officers responded to the Taco Bell around 9:40 p.m. and made contact with Edwards who was still in the drive through, Pacheco said.
They conducted a DUI investigation and cited Edwards on suspicion of DUI, DUI with a BAC above .08 and extreme DUI.
He was released to his DPS supervisor who was called to the scene, Pacheco said.
His vehicle — a white Ford Expedition — was impounded.
By law, the legal limit is .08. A charge of extreme DUI is imposed when a person has a BAC of .15 or greater.
Tucson police declined to release what Edwards BAC was.
Source
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Off-duty Arizona DPS officer cited for DUI
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Authorities say an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer has been arrested in Tucson on suspicion of extreme DUI.
Tucson police say 44-year-old Theodore Edwards was not on duty at the time and he was in a privately-owned vehicle.
Police say Edwards was arrested Sunday night after a couple noticed he was having a hard time getting into his vehicle in the Park Place parking lot and called police when they saw him drive erratically.
Police caught up with Edwards at a fast-food restaurant, conducted a DUI investigation and cited Edwards on suspicion of DUI, DUI with a blood-alcohol content above the state's legal limit of .08 and extreme DUI.
Police declined to release what Edwards' blood-alcohol content was but say he was released to his DPS supervisor who was called to the scene.
Source
Tucson police say 44-year-old Theodore Edwards was not on duty at the time and he was in a privately-owned vehicle.
Police say Edwards was arrested Sunday night after a couple noticed he was having a hard time getting into his vehicle in the Park Place parking lot and called police when they saw him drive erratically.
Police caught up with Edwards at a fast-food restaurant, conducted a DUI investigation and cited Edwards on suspicion of DUI, DUI with a blood-alcohol content above the state's legal limit of .08 and extreme DUI.
Police declined to release what Edwards' blood-alcohol content was but say he was released to his DPS supervisor who was called to the scene.
Source
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Arizona DUI task force update
Phoenix, AZ - As of early saturday morning the new Arizona DUI task force efforts that are scheduled to last through September 7, 2009 had netted 120 DUI arrests statewide.
Police agencies throughout Arizona, including Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson are participating in the efforts, which include DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols.
Throughout the state they made 700 stops. Of the 120 DUI arrests, there were 12 felony DUIs and 115 misdemeanors. There were also 13 minors arrested.
"This time of year police agencies in Arizona pool their resources towards DUI enforcement," said Arizona DUI lawyer Stewart Bergman, whose practice in Scottsdale focuses on defending people accused of DUI throughout the greater Phoenix area. "It is not unusual to see a Gilbert Police Officer patrolling in Scottsdale, or a Scottsdale Officer working in Glendale or Phoenix."
While the pooling of police resources makes it easier for law enforcement to concentrate on any given area in the state, it can create logistical problems.
"After a large task force event, you might see a DUI case charged in Scottsdale Municipal Court because the arrest was made there. But then you have a Gilbert Police Officer who made the stop and took a blood sample. Gilbert sends their blood samples to the Chandler Crime Lab for analysis. So you end up with a prosecutor's office like Scottsdale using Chandler and Gilbert city witnesses in the prosecution."
The logistical difficulties of getting several law enforcement agencies to cooperate and coordinate during a DUI prosecution can provide an advantage to the defense, especially when the DUI defense attorney is on top of the situation and make appropriate and frequent requests for discovery. Because of the administrative slowdowns, there is often times more opportunity to get favorable deals.
"It is never worth it to drink and then drive in Arizona," says Bergman, "because we see cases getting charged where the person is well under the legal limit."
Under Arizona DUI Law, the police can charge a person with being impaired to the slightest degree even if the person is well under the legal limit of 0.08 percent body alcohol concentration. And prosecutors are capable of getting convictions for DUI when the persons alcohol level is as low as a 0.06, or 75 percent of the legal limit.
"Task force events are about more than pure public safety," explained Bergman. "They are about numbers, and between and within some police departments, they may even be about competition. Because of this, even if you know you are okay to drive but have had drinks, if you can find another way to get home it is a cheap insurance plan against getting a DUI."
A first offense Arizona DUI can carry up to a minimum of 45 days in jail, depending on the alcohol level, and comes with loss of driving privileges, ignition interlock devices and heavy fines.
Source
Police agencies throughout Arizona, including Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson are participating in the efforts, which include DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols.
Throughout the state they made 700 stops. Of the 120 DUI arrests, there were 12 felony DUIs and 115 misdemeanors. There were also 13 minors arrested.
"This time of year police agencies in Arizona pool their resources towards DUI enforcement," said Arizona DUI lawyer Stewart Bergman, whose practice in Scottsdale focuses on defending people accused of DUI throughout the greater Phoenix area. "It is not unusual to see a Gilbert Police Officer patrolling in Scottsdale, or a Scottsdale Officer working in Glendale or Phoenix."
While the pooling of police resources makes it easier for law enforcement to concentrate on any given area in the state, it can create logistical problems.
"After a large task force event, you might see a DUI case charged in Scottsdale Municipal Court because the arrest was made there. But then you have a Gilbert Police Officer who made the stop and took a blood sample. Gilbert sends their blood samples to the Chandler Crime Lab for analysis. So you end up with a prosecutor's office like Scottsdale using Chandler and Gilbert city witnesses in the prosecution."
The logistical difficulties of getting several law enforcement agencies to cooperate and coordinate during a DUI prosecution can provide an advantage to the defense, especially when the DUI defense attorney is on top of the situation and make appropriate and frequent requests for discovery. Because of the administrative slowdowns, there is often times more opportunity to get favorable deals.
"It is never worth it to drink and then drive in Arizona," says Bergman, "because we see cases getting charged where the person is well under the legal limit."
Under Arizona DUI Law, the police can charge a person with being impaired to the slightest degree even if the person is well under the legal limit of 0.08 percent body alcohol concentration. And prosecutors are capable of getting convictions for DUI when the persons alcohol level is as low as a 0.06, or 75 percent of the legal limit.
"Task force events are about more than pure public safety," explained Bergman. "They are about numbers, and between and within some police departments, they may even be about competition. Because of this, even if you know you are okay to drive but have had drinks, if you can find another way to get home it is a cheap insurance plan against getting a DUI."
A first offense Arizona DUI can carry up to a minimum of 45 days in jail, depending on the alcohol level, and comes with loss of driving privileges, ignition interlock devices and heavy fines.
Source
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