By Morgan Brickley
When it comes to DUI, police are concerned primarily with the safety of drivers. However, when that goal starts to impinge upon the interests of local bars and restaurants that depend upon a steady flow of happy customers, a compromise might be in order.
Just such a situation has arisen in the city of Cape Coral, Fla., where a group of downtown bar and restaurant owners were concerned that the frequency of local police’s DUI checkpoints was hurting their businesses, according to a report from ABC 7.
Along the Cape Coral Parkway, an area filled with numerous bars and restaurants, DUI checkpoints were becoming a more and more frequent sight.
While the flagging economy may certainly have contributed to slow business at some of these restaurants, local business owners have recently voiced the suspicion that the DUI checkpoints may also be hurting their bottom line.
Leapin’ Lizards is a bar in the area that has experienced just such a lag in business. Bar owner May Ann Evans told ABC 7 that, rather than the economic conditions, customers are deterred by the police presence on the roads: “They’re just not going through the aggravation. They will avoid going to an area that’s just plagued with constant checkpoints.”
Evans and other business owners in the area have asked police to help find an alternative to the checkpoints that will maintain safety on the roads without compromising businesses in the area.
Recently, according to the report, local police have stated a willingness to massage their strategy by way of compromise.
Cape Coral Police Chief, Rob Petrovich, recently told the media that he is open-minded about compromise, and that he is considering saturation and foot patrols, which help deter drunk driving in a way that bar and restaurant owners consider to be more amendable to business.
“My dream,” Petrovich told ABC 7, “is for their parking lots to be full, for them to be fruitful and at the same time – everybody be safe.”
One local owner welcomes the new strategy. “Hopefully they’ll cut back a little on that and there will be a more personal relationship with the officers rather than a show of force kind of deal,” said Ed Sheridan, the co-owner of Eddie Fishbowls.
The bars and restaurants in the area have agreed, in turn, to explore creative ways to help prevent drunk driving, like taxi shares.
By Erin K
In the state of Montana, some believe that a culture of drunk driving and DUI arrests has become so ingrained in the community that only a community-wide change can lead to a decrease in DUI arrests and accidents.
In a recent DUI court case, a surprising number of those involved in the case had been affected by drunk driving, bringing to light the pervasiveness of DUI in Montana’s culture, even at the highest levels.
Greg Barkus, the defendant in a DUI case in Flathead County, Montana, was accused of operating a speedboat while under the influence of alcohol when he ran it into the shoreline.
According to the prosecution, his blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit when the incident occurred. Barkus, a Republican state senator, had been arrested for drunk driving before.
Barkus’ DUI attorney in the case was a man who had himself been arrested for DUI before. The lawyer’s case was dismissed however, because the police officer who would’ve testified in the case was killed by a drunk driver.
In addition, the Barkus case prosecuter’s deputy attorney had a previous arrest for DUI, as did the ex-husband of the case’s original judge.
Across Montana, numerous judges, attorneys, lawmakers and celebrities around the state have faced DUI arrests. Public prominence seems to play no part in the demographic of those impacted by drunk driving.
While certainly many people across America have felt the impact of DUI arrests on friends, family and community, the Barkus case is a microscopic view of a larger problem.
Montana, which ranks among the highest in U.S. states in terms of the rate of alcohol-related vehicle accidents, has a culture of fierce independence, in which citizens are wary of giving up their personal rights.
DUI laws took longer to reach Montana, even as other states adopted them, and a colonel in the Montana Highway Patrol has stated that the prevalent culture in the state is to view drinking and driving as “Montana birthright.”
Advocates of tougher DUI laws in Montana argue that a reduction in DUI-related accidents ensure a more universal right: the right to safer roads. The only way, in their eyes, to solve the problem is to change the culture of drinking and driving in Montana, so that peer pressure and community awareness drive positive change where lawmaking may fall short.
By Erin K
On the night of Saturday, July 25, the Chief of Police of Alexandria City, Virginia was arrested and charged with a DUI after he hit another vehicle near Interstate 66 and North Fairfax Drive.
David P. Baker had been driving a city-issued green Ford Explorer in Arlington County when he caused roughly $900 in damage to either vehicle. His blood alcohol level was reported to be 0.19—twice the legal limit in the state of Virginia.
Baker, 58, submitted his resignation on Monday, July 27. Prior to his resignation, Baker’s attorney James Clark insisted that his client had no intention of resigning.
City Manager James K. Hartmann initially ordered an investigation of the incident and told the Washington Post he would “wait for the findings of the internal review” before making a decision on how to proceed. In the mean time, Baker had been put on administrative leave.
Hartmann stated, “It is very disappointing when one of our colleagues makes a bad decision.”
If convicted, Baker will face a minimum of five days in jail due to his blood alcohol level more than doubly exceeding the legal limit, according to the police report.
Baker will leave his post officially on Friday and will temporarily be replaced by Deputy Police Chief Earl Cook who will serve as acting chief.
Source: Washington Post
By Erin K
“I really think I’m only borderline and not too drunk,” Jeffrey Donovan told officers during his DUI arrest, according to a report.
The “Burn Notice” star allegedly told police the only mistake he made was drinking Benadryl and three glasses of wine on the night of July 11.
Donovan, 41, was arrested after his car “quick swerved in order to avoid striking the rear of the patrol car,” his arrest affidavit states.
The actor had bloodshot and watery eyes and his breath reeked of alcohol. He failed a field sobriety test, according to police. After Donovan refused to take a breathalyzer, he was booked at Miami Beach police headquarters. He was released hours later.
Source: People.com
By Erin K
Recently Gov. Jack A Markell signed two new bills into law to create stricter DUI penalties for people convicted of a DUI offense in Delaware.
House Bill 152: Increased Fines and Jail Time
House Bill 152 increases DUI fines for subsequent offenders, especially drivers with five previous DUI convictions. The bill also called for increased jail time for subsequent DUI offenders and creating a felony DUI for drivers with six and seven DUI convictions.
Last year there were approximately 6,916 DUI arrests, of which 59 people had been previously arrested at least five other times for drunk driving. Since January of this year, 3,213 drivers have been arrested for DUI, with 40 of those people having five or more previous DUI arrests.
House Bill 177: Strict Penalties for First DUI Offense
The second bill signed into law strengthens penalties for a first time DUI offense if the driver has a blood alcohol level of .15% or higher.
If convicted of a DUI with a BAC of .15%, the period of hard revocation for those who are mandated to have an ignition interlock device is increased from 30 to 45 days.
The driver’s license is suspended for six months instead of three, and the ignition interlock device must be used for six months.
The bill limits driving authority of an ignition interlock device licensed driver to work, home, school, alcohol treatment programs and interlock service provider appointments.
Source: Sussex Countian
By Erin K
This weekend is one of celebration as friends and family gather to enjoy fireworks, food and fun. Utahans will be celebrating the holiday like many other people, but the citizens of the state have a little more to be joyful over this year.
Forty years ago, the state passed a private club law, requiring people to have a membership to a bar in order to buy alcohol. The membership was designed with help from members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to limit alcohol consumption and could cost anywhere between $20 and $40 a year.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. convinced the Utah Legislature to repeal the private club law because it negatively affected tourism, which brings in about $7 billion a year.
Although lawmakers repealed the law, Utah DUI laws were toughened, requiring bars to scanning driver licenses’ of patrons who are under 35 years old and keeping the records for the week.
Senate President Michael Waddoups said the number of DUI arrests or DUI accidents will be monitored to see if the law has a negative affect.
“Obviously my biggest concern is the safety of our citizens, our families, the drivers on the roads,” he told the press, but there are new tools for law enforcement to crack down on DUI, which could leave the state “better off than we were before, so I’m willing to give it a try.”
For now, Utahans are organizing barcrawls in downtown Salt Lake City to celebrate their “newfound freedom.”
By Editor
Some people are slow learners. Cases in point: This week we have two examples of people being arrested for DUI on consecutive days.
In Brownsville, Texas a man ran a vehicle off the road at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday. He was arrested, charged with his first DUI and released about 11:20 a.m. on $3,000 bond.
A mere six hours later he was picked up again after he hit another vehicle. He was charged, once again, with DUI – and a host of other vehicular charges – and placed in prison under $40,000 bond.
Two days, two DUIs.
But in Wisconsin, a woman topped the Texas mark, picking up three DUI arrests in three days. Her first arrest came as she tried to drive out of a ditch near a state park. She was wearing only one shoe and registered a BAC of .21.
Not 24-hours later her car was stuck in a snow bank and she was arrested for DUI again.
“I am still finishing up the box of wine in my car from yesterday,” authorities reported she told the officer.
She spent 12 hours in jail, but was picked up not long after her release. She was reported to be driving erratically and was found, once again, with a box of wine in her car. She will now spend 30 days in jail.
By Editor
In Illinois, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office has moved to dismiss dozens of DUI cases. This surprising action came after a second Chicago police officer was accused of framing drivers to boost DUI arrests.
Nearly a year ago, another Chicago police officer was charged with perjury, official misconduct and obstructing justice.
Officer John Haleas was accused of failing to follow proper procedure during a DUI arrest in 2005. It was alleged that Haleas failed to perform field sobriety tests and lied in his police report of the arrest.
Cook County prosecutors dropped more than 50 DUI cases that were products of Haleas’ DUI arrests.
Haleas was honored on three occasions by the Schaumburg-based Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists as the officer with the most DUI arrests in Illinois. The criminal case against him is still pending.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, Officer Joe D. Parker has been given a desk job at the station while an internal police investigation of the DUI arrests he made is conducted.
Parker, 59, is a 23-year police veteran and works in the Chicago Police Department’s Traffic Enforcement Unit. The Cook County state’s attorney’s office is also investigating Parker.
However, this is not the first instance in which Parker has been accused of making false DUI arrests.
In 2005, Parker reportedly arrested Vanessa Davis, a well-known blues singer who suffers from multiple sclerosis, for suspicion of DUI. After the arrest, Davis suffered severe anxiety, which caused severe medical complications.
Davis filed a lawsuit against the City of Chicago for wrongful arrest. Her lawyer claimed that because of the arrest she had to be hospitalized for a few days. The city paid Davis $100,000 to settle the lawsuit.
The current investigations into Parker’s conduct began after it was noticed his account of a DUI arrest on a police report was disproved by a review of the dash cam video from his squad car.
Wayne Jackson has filed a federal lawsuit, claiming that Parker also wrongfully arrested him for DUI.
Jackson was driving home from work in 2006 when Parker pulled him over. He was given a field sobriety test and claims that he passed; however, Parker wrote on the arrest report Jackson was swaying and slurred his speech.
Jackson also says he passed a Breathalyzer test, but on the arrest report Parker indicated he had “attempted to circumvent” the machine.
Like Haleas, Parker was honored by the Schaumburg-based Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists for making 153 DUI arrests in 2006.
By Editor
The North County Times reports on a dangerous and growing trend in California. It seems Hollywood’s starlets aren’t the only ones drinking, driving and crashing their cars.
The Times cites a report by the Automobile Club of Southern California that states DUI-related car crashes resulting in injury or death rose 124 percent in the last 10 years.
Among women 18-20-years-old, drunk driving crashes doubled.
DUI arrests also seem to be up among women in San Diego County, the Times reports. At Occupational Health Services, a group that administers court-ordered alcohol education following a drunk driving arrest, the percent of women enrolled has risen 10% in four years.
By Editor
The DUI fallout from last night’s Super Bowl parties is being felt across the country. As predicted, law enforcement agencies across the country stepped up DUI patrols last night, and there were dozens of arrests made across the country.
In California last year, Super Bowl Sunday brought four times the number of DUI fatalities and injuries than a typical night, reports ABC 30 in Fresno. In 2008, there were also more than 400 drivers arrested for DUI.
Numbers are still rolling in from this year, but thousands of drivers were examined in patrols and road blocks. Up the road in Santa Maria, more than 3,000 were stopped in a DUI checkpoint. Similar checkpoints in Las Vegas resulted in 12 DUI arrests.
If you or someone you know was arrested for DUI this past Sunday, you may want to speak with a DUI lawyer.