If the Governor's Office of Highway Safety hasn't made itself abundantly clear that it won't be tolerating drunk drivers this holiday season, the shear number of drunk drivers it has nailed as part of the Holiday DUI Task Force should probably clear up any misunderstandings.
Since the task force began the day before Thanksgiving, law enforcement agencies from across the state have nabbed more than 2,000 drunk drivers, including extending the long arm of the law to 446 "extreme" drunk drivers.
Last week's big winner was the Phoenix Police Department, which is at the top of the list for single-city police departments, with an impressive 131 DUI busts, followed by the Tucson PD's 114.
This week -- with each booze-filled breath -- the Phoenix PD's lead over Tucson is grew even larger.
With nearly 100 busts this week alone, the Phoenix PD's total is now 225, as Tucson could only muster a measly 60 -- putting its total at 174.
The task force includes several multi-agency efforts like the East Valley DUI Task Force, a combination of several police departments. The multi-agency task forces, as well as the Department of Public Safety, make the large majority of the state's total DUI busts.
The DPS has 349 busts, while the East Valley DUI Task Force, which includes the Tempe Police Department, has a whopping 656 busts since the DUI roundup began about three weeks ago.
There is, however, one law enforcement agency that isn't exactly pulling its weight -- the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.
So far, the MCSO have managed a meager 112 DUI arrests since the task force began, putting Joe and his goon squad in seventh place statewide, just behind Scottsdale.
Let's cut Joe and the boys a little slack, they've been busy doing all the, um, important stuff like intimidating judges and making house calls on county employees.
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Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Manteca Police Conduct DUI Sweep
MANTECA, Calif. --
Teams of officers searched Manteca Wednesday, with warrants in hand for suspected drunken driving offenders.
Police said some of the people had multiple arrests in the past.
"For the most part, the drunk drivers that we run into that get arrested, this is their first offense," Rex Osborn from the Manteca Police Department said. "The ones we are arresting today, the majority of them have other criminal behavior. They know the system, they know the likelihood of being caught is one of these sweeps or a traffic violation, so they work the system."
Officers had a list with 241 names on it -- all of them from the Manteca area. They are people who didn't show up for court or who didn't show up for jail after being convicted.
Police find that most have moved away, but there are some who are handcuffed and taken off to jail -- no longer able to put off serving time.
"We have guys that get sentenced and they have to wait six months to go to jail because there is no room, so they wait and they just don't show up," Osborn said. "And the others, they just don't show up to court on the date we give them and either move out of the area -- which is most of them -- and they think it goes away, but it doesn't."
Source
Teams of officers searched Manteca Wednesday, with warrants in hand for suspected drunken driving offenders.
Police said some of the people had multiple arrests in the past.
"For the most part, the drunk drivers that we run into that get arrested, this is their first offense," Rex Osborn from the Manteca Police Department said. "The ones we are arresting today, the majority of them have other criminal behavior. They know the system, they know the likelihood of being caught is one of these sweeps or a traffic violation, so they work the system."
Officers had a list with 241 names on it -- all of them from the Manteca area. They are people who didn't show up for court or who didn't show up for jail after being convicted.
Police find that most have moved away, but there are some who are handcuffed and taken off to jail -- no longer able to put off serving time.
"We have guys that get sentenced and they have to wait six months to go to jail because there is no room, so they wait and they just don't show up," Osborn said. "And the others, they just don't show up to court on the date we give them and either move out of the area -- which is most of them -- and they think it goes away, but it doesn't."
Source
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Woman who caused 4 wrecks on I-10 faces DUI charges
PHOENIX -- A woman is facing DUI charges after allegedly causing four separate collisions on two Phoenix freeways Monday.
Those collisions caused a huge series of afternoon delays on State Route 51 and Interstate 10, where the crashes occurred, and also caused backups on Loop 202.
DPS spokesperson Robert Lee Bailey said 29-year-old Kristen Rowley was initially traveling on the southbound SR 51 approaching I-10, when she struck the first vehicle.
Rowley then got onto the eastbound side of I-10 at Washington, where she struck a second vehicle and exited the freeway.
According to Bailey, she then got back on the westbound I-10, where she struck two additional vehicles.
Rowley finally came to a stop after hitting a Nissan pickup, the fourth vehicle, which caused a chain reaction collision between the truck and two other vehicles at 19th Avenue and I-10.
Bailey said six victims' vehicles had to be towed, and two of the drivers were transported to a local hospital for minor injuries.
DPS officials said Rowley was transported to Saint Joseph's Hospital with minor injuries and will be booked on hit and run and DUI charges.
Video from Air15 showed westbound traffic on the I-10 at a near standstill because of the wrecks.
Source
Those collisions caused a huge series of afternoon delays on State Route 51 and Interstate 10, where the crashes occurred, and also caused backups on Loop 202.
DPS spokesperson Robert Lee Bailey said 29-year-old Kristen Rowley was initially traveling on the southbound SR 51 approaching I-10, when she struck the first vehicle.
Rowley then got onto the eastbound side of I-10 at Washington, where she struck a second vehicle and exited the freeway.
According to Bailey, she then got back on the westbound I-10, where she struck two additional vehicles.
Rowley finally came to a stop after hitting a Nissan pickup, the fourth vehicle, which caused a chain reaction collision between the truck and two other vehicles at 19th Avenue and I-10.
Bailey said six victims' vehicles had to be towed, and two of the drivers were transported to a local hospital for minor injuries.
DPS officials said Rowley was transported to Saint Joseph's Hospital with minor injuries and will be booked on hit and run and DUI charges.
Video from Air15 showed westbound traffic on the I-10 at a near standstill because of the wrecks.
Source
Friday, January 15, 2010
Diana Taurasi serves one day on DUI plea
PHOENIX -- WNBA star Diana Taurasi has completed her jail time in connection to a DUI ticket.
The Phoenix Mercury guard spent one day behind bars after the judge dropped nine days of the possible 10-day sentence as part of a plea deal.
Taurasi was pulled over in Central Phoenix back in July, She was allegedly speeding -- nearly 20 mph over the posted speed limit -- and weaving.
Officers conducted a sobriety check on the scene. Her blood-alcohol content was later determined to be .17, more than twice the legal limit.
In addition to the extra days, the judge also also dropped charges of extreme DUI and speeding.
Source
The Phoenix Mercury guard spent one day behind bars after the judge dropped nine days of the possible 10-day sentence as part of a plea deal.
Taurasi was pulled over in Central Phoenix back in July, She was allegedly speeding -- nearly 20 mph over the posted speed limit -- and weaving.
Officers conducted a sobriety check on the scene. Her blood-alcohol content was later determined to be .17, more than twice the legal limit.
In addition to the extra days, the judge also also dropped charges of extreme DUI and speeding.
Source
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