DUISearch results for category: DUI News
New Technology to Fight Pennsylvania DUI
Lycoming County DUI Task Force adds tool to its efforts.
The efforts of law enforcement agencies to identify and apprehend motorists suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol in Pennsylvania have been effective, though tools to detect impairment from drugs have lagged. The Lycoming County DUI Task Force hopes that a new piece of equipment changes that.
A pupillometer is being deployed that allows an officer to test a PA DUI suspect for impairment from prescription, over the counter and illicit drugs. The hand-held device is meant to establish probable cause to continue a DUI investigation. It scans the pupils of a suspect and compares the readings to a database with over 3 million images of people known to have drugs in their system. The officer must have special training to operate the equipment and receive Drug Recognition Expert certification.
The pupillometer is said to be 97% accurate, though the efficiency drops for those over 50 years of age, under 16 and for women who are pregnant.
The device and an accompanying computer cost about $11,300. A highway safety grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation paid for Lycoming County’s equipment. Two additional Pennsylvania DUI devices have been put into service in York and King of Prussia. A fourth is expected to be deployed soon in western Pennsylvania.
Statistics show 52,300 arrested for driving under the influence in PA during 2008. 9,000 of those were also charged with impairment from drugs and an estimated 60% of motorists arrested for DUI in Pennsylvania are multiple drug users.
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No Colorado DUI Related Deaths Reported Over Holiday
274 arrests were made statewide for drunk driving in CO.
The Colorado State patrol has released a statement indicating that there were no DUI-related fatalities during the Memorial Day weekend. There were four traffic deaths reported across the state though none involved alcohol. It is the first Memorial Day holiday since 2003 where no highway deaths were attributable to drunk driving in Colorado.
While not all jurisdictions have filed reports, law enforcement agencies statewide made a total of 274 arrests for driving under the influence in Colorado over the extended weekend. That included CO DUI 230 arrests being made by State Patrol troopers.
8,583 traffic citations were issued by State troopers over the holiday weekend, including 2,251 for seatbelt violations. 61 felony arrests were made and 103 were charged with drug related offenses.
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Sheriff's deputy cut corners during investigations of drunk driving in Florida
Prosecutors in Polk County have dropped charges against 54 defendants accused of driving under the influence in Florida. The reasons stem from a sheriff's deputy taking shortcuts in preparing DUI arrest reports and conducting tests to determine blood alcohol content.
Deputy Tex Thomas joined the Polk County Sheriff's Office last year and made 124 arrests for suspicion of DUI in FL. In a court deposition for a drunk driving case, Thomas admitted to clearing just the top portion of an arrest report and reusing words from a previous arrest. The use of such a template, rather than writing specific details and observations unique to an arrest, is a violation of procedure. In one case, he inadvertently left in the name of the previous suspect's last name. Thomas also admitted to not properly observing a 20 minute period of direct observation before conducting a breath test to ensure that the suspect did not belch, vomit or ingest something that could affect the accuracy of the test. He would include the drive time from the point of the traffic stop to the testing facility as part of the intended face-to-face window of observation.
Prosecutors felt the shortcuts jeopardized the DUI cases and they elected not to file official charges against 50 defendants and dropped four other charges. Those arrests were made between October 2008 and early July 2009.
Thomas, 27, has not been disciplined though there is an ongoing internal investigation. While he has been reassigned from targeted DUI enforcement to general patrol, he is still able to initiate traffic stops for suspected Florida DUI.
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Town Vows to Fire Employees Arrested for New Mexico DWI
Farmington, NM will terminate city employees convicted of drunk driving in NM.
The city manager of Farmington, New Mexico has announced that city employees convicted of driving while intoxicated will be fired. In an email sent to employees, Rob Mayes said the number of arrests for New Mexico DWI among city workers was inexcusable. Any worker found guilty of drunk driving would be terminated regardless of whether they were on the job or off-duty.
Mayes plans to issue a detailed policy that may include forced, unpaid leave for employees accused of DWI until their criminal case is resolved. Over the past 16 months, a city inspector, three police officers and five firefighters employed by the city of Farmington have been arrested for suspicion of NM DWI.
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309 Arrests for Arizona DUI Over Holiday Weekend
Statewide task force targeted drunk drivers in AZ.
The Governor's Office of Highway Traffic Safety has reported that 309 motorists were charged with driving under the influence in Arizona over the Fourth of July weekend. 106 of those arrests were made on the Fourth itself. The statistics reflect 50 fewer DUI arrests than last year.
More than 300 officers and deputies joined a statewide task force targeting drunk driving. Of the total AZ DUI arrests, 99 were for extreme DUI, which is usually charged when the driver has a blood-alcohol content in excess of .15%. Law enforcement agencies made a total of 3,471 traffic stops during the extended holiday weekend.
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Fort Drum to Prosecute NY DWI Cases in Military Court
Army soldiers will be subject to military justice rather than civil court.
Major General Michael Oates, commander of Fort Drum in northern New York, has decided to prosecute soldiers arrested for drunk driving in military, rather than civilian, court. The Army post has been publishing photos of soldiers accused of NY DWI for several months, though Oates said that effort has not deterred drunk driving enough.
Soldiers arrested for driving while intoxicated in New York will now be subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Punishment can range from a reprimand to a full court martial. Oates also hopes to conclude the DWI cases more rapidly, stating that prosecution in civilian court can take too much time.
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Woman Earns Alcohol Monitoring Device for Party Photos on Facebook
Photos showed parole violation for defendant waiting trial for deadly Illinois DUI.
A judge has ordered a woman accused of driving under the influence in Illinois to be outfitted with an alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet following the posting of party photos on a Facebook profile.
Erika Scoliere is waiting trial for aggravated Illinois DUI and reckless homicide for a July 2007 accident that killed a motorcyclist. As a condition of bail, she was required to not consume alcohol or be around those who are drinking. Police investigators, however, found photos of Scoliere drinking with friends posted on the social networking site. One was captioned, "Erika passed out in my bed. Ha Ha."
The Assistant State's Attorney told the judge that Scoliere also violated terms of bail by not contacting county court services by phone while at school. Scoliere attends college in Ohio. Despite protests raised by her DUI defense attorney of the social shame brought by the ankle bracelet, the Kane County judge said that Scoliere had "earned the privilege of wearing the SCRAM bracelet." The bracelet detects alcohol through the wearer’s perspiration. The device must be regularly synched via remote access with a central computer database that records violations.
Scoliere, accompanied by her parents, left the courtroom in tears.
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Head of Anti-DUI Unit Accused of Driving Under the Influence in California
Defendant runs the Sonoma County alcohol and drug addiction program.
Thomas Newell was charged with suspicion of driving under the influence in Northern California following a tip from another motorist. Newell was observed driving recklessly in his Mercedes-Benz by an off-duty firefighter. Responding California Highway Patrol officers suspected the influence of drugs and booked the defendant at the Sonoma County jail.
Newell, 53, is the supervisor in the Department of Health Services of the Sonoma County drug and alcohol services division. The program targets drunk driving offenders by offering addiction rehabilitation.
A blood sample was drawn though the results of toxicology tests will not be known for several weeks. Newell reportedly said he was taking pain killers for chronic pain from five knee surgeries and a hip replacement. A spokesperson said Newell is on leave from work, and made no further comments.
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Cop Resigns After South Carolina DUI
Officer had daughter in car at time of alcohol related accident.
A Walhalla, South Carolina police officer has resigned following his arrest for driving under the influence. Lt. Scott Stanley was charged with SC DUI last weekend by the state highway patrol following a single vehicle accident.
Stanley reportedly had picked up his daughter from elementary school and was driving to pick up another of his children when he ran off the road and hit a culvert. No one was injured in the accident though responding officers suspected impaired driving. Stanley’s blood alcohol content registered .10%, slightly above the legal threshold for intoxication.
Stanley, 39, was an eight-year veteran with the local police department. The chief of police stated that Stanley was a good officer who made a mistake.
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Judge Bars Reinstatement of Illinois DUI Charge
Prosecutor wanted to change plea deal after learning about prior drunk driving offenses.
A judge has denied an attempt to reinstate charges of driving under the influence in Illinois against a defendant. Franklin 'Mitch' Durr was arrested for IL DUI on April 22, 2008, and a plea bargain with the prosecutor lead to the DUI charge being dropped in exchange for a guilty plea to improper registration and a fine.
The Madison County State's Attorney, William Mudge, later learned that Durr had a 1999 conviction in Missouri for involuntary manslaughter involving alcohol and 1985 judgment on a suspected DUI. Mudge said he would not have entered into the plea agreement with Durr had he known about the prior incidents, and he sought to have the order accepting the plea agreement vacated. A judge did grant the motion to vacate the acceptance order but another judge ruled that the decision did not dispose of the original plea agreement. Durr was given the opportunity to enter his plea again, under the original agreement.
The judge barred an effort by the state to pursue a new charge of drunk driving in Illinois, citing the defendant's right against double jeopardy. Durr's Illinois DUI defense attorney had argued over seven months ago that the 2008 charge was weak, as there was no evidence to prove his client was driving while intoxicated and the video of the arrest did not conclusively indicate impairment.
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