Holiday DUI Task Force Nets 4,465 Arrests

The state of Arizona used federal money from four different sources to put together a holiday DUI task force. Twice as many officers worked the holiday task force from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day. 4,465 DUI arrests were made during the task force. For the year, the 16 DUI task forces across the state made 14,087 arrests, up from 10,419 in 2008. 64 police, sheriff, tribal and university agencies statewide and the Department of Public Safety made up this year's DUI task forces.

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Arizona DUI Task Force Numbers

More than 20,000 traffic stops have been made since the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety established a DUI task force to look for impaired drivers. Officers have arrested more than 1,200 individuals on DUI charges since the effort began Thanksgiving weekend.

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Arizona DUI Enforcement Grant Approved

The Glendale City Council adopted a resolution allowing the Glendale Police Department to accept a $50,000 Governor's Office of Highway Safety's DUI enforcement grant. Glendale will use the money to pay overtime for patrol officers and other personnel during the holiday DUI task force. This will allow the department to increase the number of hours dedicated specifically to stopping drunken drivers. The city accepted a similar grant last winter. Glendale regularly participates in the West Valley DUI Task Force, a partnership of police agencies that team up for DUI saturation patrols. By targeting specific areas and making large numbers of arrests, the task force hopes to discourage drunken driving. Officers from Surprise, Goodyear, Avondale, El Mirage, Buckeye and Tolleson also participate in the task force.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

West Valley DUI Task Force Hosted In Surprise, Arizona

Police will be on the lookout for drunken drivers in Surprise on Saturday night (November 14, 2009). From 7 p.m. until 3 a.m., police from Surprise and about eight other agencies will descend upon the West Valley city to seek those who appear to be driving while impaired. Assisting agencies include police departments in Glendale, Avondale, Tolleson, Goodyear, Buckeye and El Mirage. The state Department of Public Safety and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office are also expected to help with the effort. "We've all witnessed the tragic results of someone's decision to drink and drive," said Surprise police Sgt. Mike Ferrara in a news release. That's why you see this cooperative effort from the participating agencies."

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Labor Day DUI Task Force Arrests 949 Suspects

A task force targeting drunken drivers has netted 949 arrests since August 21, 2009, statewide. Labor Day enforcement ends today. The task force says 315 people face extreme driving under the influence charges, meaning they had a blood alcohol content above 0.15 percent.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Arizona Court Of Appeals Ruling: Clear Consent Needed For DUI Blood Tests

A new Arizona Court ruling says authorities must obtain a search warrant to conduct a blood test of a DUI suspect unless the suspect clearly consents. The state Court of Appeals ruled on September 1, 2009, that it wasn't enough under state law that a man apparently didn't object when officers moved to take a blood sample while in a police DUI van. The ruling comes out of a case in which a man was pulled over and arrested for DUI. He was vomiting and could not participate in a blood test, so as he was sitting on the steps of the DUI van, officers drew blood. But the driver did not speak English and the officers did not speak Spanish. In Court, he claimed that the officers grabbed his arm and that he did not resist because he was afraid. But neither did he give consent. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled that the police officers acted within the law. The driver appealed. The Court notes that the law in question is called "implied consent" because in Arizona, drivers are subject to a civil driver's license suspension if they refuse to have blood drawn. But the ruling says motorists clearly still have the right to withhold consent for a warrantless search. The Court of Appeals sent the case back to a lower Court for a finding on whether the man involved consented.

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220 Arrested By Arizona DUI Task Force Over The 4th of July Weekend

As of Sunday evening, a statewide Arizona DUI task force netted 220 who police say were drunken drivers. The Governor's Office of Highway Traffic Safety said 325 officers and deputies participated. At least 70 drivers were arrested on suspicion of extreme DUI, 29 on suspicion of aggravated driving under the influence and 191 on suspicion of misdemeanor DUI. At least 19 underage drivers were arrested on suspicion of DUI. Since Thursday, police agencies have made 2,713 traffic stops. Officers conducted saturation patrols, sobriety checkpoints and youth alcohol enforcement.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.