The New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission has revealed that arrests during 2009 reached a three year high though the focus of police action appears to still be on minor crimes. The New Orleans Police Department made 59,974 arrests last year. Of that total, 7,945 were for felony crimes. The majority of arrests were for traffic offenses, like license violations and speeding. Arrests for driving while intoxicated in New Orleans amounted to 2% of the arrests made in Orleans Parish.

The MCC contends that the figures show the police department is wasting resources with little benefit. While convictions for violent felonies have more than doubled, this has been credited to better communications between NOPD and the Orleans Parish DA’s office. The number of arrests for petty municipal offenses, like public intoxication and disturbing the peace, has gone down though the types of overall arrests still show a strategy of quantity or quality.

The MCC advocates the issuance of tickets or summonses for lesser crimes, allowing officers to remain on patrol for more serious offenses. The NOPD Superintendent agrees that the department could be more efficient but says that some arrests for seemingly minor offenses are necessary.

Another issue the NOPD is facing is the time involved with arresting people with warrants or for traffic offenses who are from neighboring parishes. Of the 20,514 arrested for an out-of-parish warrant, 67% were released within a day or two when other jurisdictions would not pick up the arrestees. A new law being waiting for the governor’s signature would allow officers to issue court summonses to out-of-parish offenders. This is expected to tens of thousands of law enforcement manhours for more targeted crime prevention.

An El Paso woman tried to drive over a set of railroad tracks rather than using a crossing early Monday morning, and got stuck. Roxana Arlett Baez abandoned her SUV around 1:30 am and soon after a train hit the vehicle.

Officers found Baez, 27, walking along the tracks and determined she was intoxicated. She was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Texas and booked at the El Paso County Jail.

Are you needing legal help with a Texas DWI?

An intoxicated off-duty officer with the Dallas Police department has been arrested after discharging her weapon in a squad car while fellow officers were taking her home.

Kelly Beemer had attended a party Wednesday night with other members of the police department when she was a determined to be too drunk to drive home. During the evening she allegedly offered rides to co-workers and then hid from officers. Two on-duty officers were summoned to the bar around 11:30 pm to take Beemer to her east Dallas home. She was stumbling so badly that the two officers had to hold her up as they escorted her to their squad car. While in the vehicle, Beemer thought she was being arrested and became belligerent. On a dashboard camera video recording she is heard to say, “This is what you’ve wanted.” When one officer replied, “To take you home?”, Beemer replied “To drive me out of my mind to where you have no (expletive) control, no control whatsoever.”

Beemer then withdrew her department issued handgun and fired a single shot into the baseboard of the police cruiser. Another officer can be heard yelling, “Kelly, drop the gun! Drop it! Drop it!”

Commanders who arrived on the scene did not initially file charges because Beemer was so intoxicated that she could not be interviewed. After reviewing the squad car video, Beemer was charged with discharging a firearm within the city limits. She was released Thursday night after posting bond.

No one was hurt in the incident. The police chief called Beemer’s actions “reckless” and “unacceptable”. The videotape of the incident was released to show that the department was not trying to cover up the shooting. Beemer has turned in her weapon and badge until an investigation is complete. She could lose her license as a peace officer is convicted.

Do you need help from a Texas DWI attorney with a Texas DWI?

A trucker was stopped in Alachua County by Florida Highway Patrol after troopers saw him drift across three lanes of traffic on Interstate 75. The troopers had been alerted by other drivers who said the semi-trailer truck had nearly run them off the road.

The driver, Curtis Bernard Hamilton, told the arresting officers that he had drank beer to stay awake. His blood alcohol content registered .127% and .123%. The legal threshold for all drivers is .08% BAC and for commercial truck operators it is .04%.

Hamilton, 51, was booked on two counts of driving under the influence in Florida.

Are you needing help from an DUI attorney with a Florida DUI?

Joseph Gannascoli, the actor who played Vito Spatafore in The Sopranos, was arrested for driving under the influence in Tampa Friday morning. An officer on a targeted Florida DUI patrol stopped Gannascoli around 2:45 am after seeing him drift in his lane and drive on the lane marker. Gannascoli’s breath reportedly smelled of alcohol and he had slurred speech and bloodshot and watery eyes.

The arrest report says that Gannascoli exhibited impairment during a field sobriety test. During booking at the Hillsborough County jail, a breath test showed a blood alcohol content of .111%. Gannascoli posted $500 bond and was released.

Gannascoli, 51, was in Tampa promoting his Cugine brand of cigars. He first appeared in the HBO mob drama ‘The Sopranos’ as a pastry shop owner before taking a regular role as Vito.

Do you need legal assistance from an attorney with a Florida DWI?

State Police report the arrest of a Wayland man last Wednesday for DWI in New York after he was stopped on his snowmobile. Given that it is June, Carl Kruchten damaged several private yards on his drunken ride.

Kruchten, 46, had a blood alcohol content of .18%, more than twice the legal limit for intoxication in New York. He is scheduled to appear in court on July 1.

Do you need legal assistance with a New York DWI?

State Police are investigating an accident on the Schuylkill Expressway in Philadelphia that ended with an off-duty trooper losing his life. Cpl. John Quigg, Jr. was traveling west in the eastbound lanes around 1:00 am when he struck another vehicle. The crash left the 23-year old driver of the other vehicle in serious condition.

The other driver, a college graduate headed to law school, was wearing her seatbelt. Quigg was not.

Quigg, 48, had been scheduled to appear in court later that morning on a December 2009 charge of driving under the influence in Pennsylvania. Officials are waiting for the results of toxicology tests to determine if alcohol was involved in Wednesday morning’s crash.

Do you need help from a Pennsylvania DUI lawyer?

Last October, the Houston Police Department started training officers in drawing blood to test blood-alcohol content in suspected Texas drunk driving cases. Mayor Annise Parker has now cancelled that program.

Because the blood sample would become evidence in a criminal case, Texas DWI law specifies who can conduct a blood draw and in what environment. Most police departments rely on phlebotomists on-staff or at medical facilities to conduct a blood draw. Using federal funds, the Houston program intended to have officers themselves take samples, thus reducing processing time following an arrest for drunk driving. In addition to special training, the initial ten officers in the program received required shots for hepatitis and immunizations.

While the reason for the cancellation of the program was not given, blood draws are controversial. Recent changes in state legislation allow for mandatory blood draws in certain situations, especially when the motorist has a prior conviction for Texas DWI and causes an accident or has a minor in the vehicle. Some police departments employ ‘No Refusal Weekends’ where a judge is on call to sign a warrant for a blood sample when a motorist refuses to submit to a breath test.

The Houston initiative came under closer scrutiny when it was learned that 50 inmates at a local correctional institution were used in the training of the police officers. While it was claimed that the inmates were scheduled for blood testing anyway and that they gave permission to have their blood drawn by the police officers, there was an effort to keep the testing procedure quiet. Organizers feared a perception of using the inmates as guinea pigs. There is no indication that the mayor knew about this detail before stopping the practice.

The HPD says the mayor’s orders will not eliminate ‘No Refusal Weekends’. Officers will resort to using specially trained medical staff.

Do you need help from a Texas DWI attorney?

A March memo from the acting post commander to state police at a Birmingham post threatened troopers with punishment if they did not make at least three Alabama DUI arrests before the end of the month. The number of tickets issued for suspicion of driving under the influence in the Birmingham area doubled.

Troopers defend the memo, which threatened shift assignments and opportunity for over-time pay if the apparent quotas for drunk driving citations were not met. They say it was simply a poorly worded email to motivate troopers to target impaired drivers on Alabama roads. The memo was issued to corporals in Jefferson, Blount, Shelby, St. Clair and Walker counties, and some forwarded the memo to troopers at the post.

Alabama DUI defense attorneys cite this as another example of a positive cause impacting innocent drivers. With perceived quotas, troopers will be inclined to create evidence or arrest details to justify the traffic stop.

The author of the memo retired in May and was not available for comment.

Do you need help with your Alabama DUI?

The New York City Police Department has released data showing that Queens recorded the highest number of arrests for driving while intoxicated in the metro area. Within Queens, the central precincts saw the most arrests, especially the 115th which includes the neighborhoods of Corona, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. So far this year, a total of 257 arrests have been made for NY DWI in the 115th and there have been 167 arrests in the 110th precinct.

The numerous bars and restaurants on Roosevelt Avenue, which runs through both of those areas, are considered the primary reason for the numbers. In parts of the Corona neighborhood, there are reduced public transportation options and more impaired motorists resort to driving. The police have also targeted areas of Queens in an effort to reduce crime and drunk driving. Sobriety checkpoints are part of that initiative, as well as 100