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Officers cracking down on drunk drivers
Published 10:53 a.m., August 25, 2009
Local law enforcement are cracking down on drunk drivers and those without seatbelts during a Safe and Sober wave that will run through Labor Day.
The Fergus Falls Police Department, Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office and State Patrol are among 400 Minnesota agencies participating in the nationwide campaign, which began Friday. Police and sheriff’s authorities are dividing dollars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to fund officer overtime during hours when drunk driving is most prevalent.
The funding is particularly valuable to smaller departments like Fergus Falls, which doesn’t have a traffic division, said Capt. Steve Adams. The federal dollars will fund 120 hours dedicated specifically to traffic patrol, which is typically interrupted when officers or deputies need to respond to calls.
“It’s basically like putting an (additional) officer out there for three weeks, so it’s a substantial amount of time we’re adding,” Adams said.
The Safe and Sober campaign comes shortly after Otter Tail County was named to the state’s “Deadly 13” for the number of DWI-related fatalities and serious injuries between 2006 and 2008. Of the five traffic deaths during that period, three were alcohol-related, according to the sheriff’s office. Serious alcohol-related injuries totaled 21 for Otter Tail County, up from comparable counties like Becker (9), Clay (10), Crow Wing (15) and Kandiyohi (8).
Otter Tail County holds the number 13 slot on the list of the “Deadly 13,” though it had previously hovered near number 17, said Deputy Jon Karger. The ranking means the county will receive additional resources from the Office of Traffic Safety and a State Patrol program targeting DWI-prone areas.
A popular misconception is that out-of-towners are involved in DWI crashes more often than permanent county residents, Karger said. But in reviewing the accidents, authorities typically find the driver and/or victims were locals, he said.
Last summer’s Safe and Sober campaign fell over three weeks in July and resulted in 16 DWI arrests during the overtime and regular Fergus Falls police hours. Statistics on the number of DWI arrests by the sheriff’s office during that period were not immediately available.
Fergus Falls police officers and Otter Tail County sheriff’s deputies have arrested at least seven people for DWI since Friday.
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The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post. To post a comment you will need to register. Or, if you're already registered but have not included your true, verifiable identity with your registration, you will need to update your account to include your identity. Effective Dec. 1, 2009, all posts appear with the commenter's true identity, which must be verified by site staff. Those who registered prior to Dec. 1, 2009, should be aware that once you update your information with your true identity, all prior posts under your user name will also indicate your true identity. If you do not wish to link yourself to prior comments, you should register again with a different user name.Posted by toad3 (anonymous) on August 26, 2009 at 8:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I was drunk once for 20 years!
Posted by watermelon (anonymous) on August 26, 2009 at 4:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How is that different from any other time of the year? Any given friday or saturday night, there are police parked and waiting for people to pull out of the parking lots of many popular FF watering holes. Time well spent there, Cochese.
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