During St. Patrick’s Day weekend, the Columbia Police Department increased patrols to prevent intoxicated drivers from getting behind the wheel.
To increase enforcement, CPD set up a sobriety checkpoint near the intersection of Providence Road and Big Bear Boulevard over the weekend. It lasted from 11:30 p.m. Friday to about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, CPD spokesman Officer Chris Hessenflow said.
CPD officers stopped 222 cars during the checkpoint and three arrests were made for driving while intoxicated charges. Throughout the duration of the weekend saturation, 14 DWI arrests were made.
“Like all our checkpoint locations, we used data from our records systems to show where the most wrecks are occurring, where a lot of arrests are made and where there are the most wrecks with alcohol involved,” Hessenflow said. “We pull this data out of the system to narrow it down to a certain area. Within that area, we choose a location that is safe for us as well as for motorists.”
Hessenflow said DWI arrests are typically made for 1 to 4 percent of cars stopped at sobriety checkpoints.
“Our numbers from this weekend are certainly within that range,” Hessenflow said. “Of course, we’d like to have a checkpoint with no DWI arrests made. It shows us that we are doing a better job of keeping drunks off the road in the first place.”
CPD also arrested six drivers for driving with suspended or revoked licenses, one on minor in possession of alcohol charges, two for marijuana possession and drug paraphernalia, two for misdemeanor warrants and one for a felony warrant and possession of a firearm.
“We were surprised at the total number of arrests made,” Hessenflow said. “We don’t usually have this many arrests for unlicensed drivers and other offenses.”
Hessenflow said a convicted felon was found with an AK-47 assault rifle in his vehicle. An Hallsville police officer searched Justin M. Miller after he was stopped at the checkpoint. The officer searched Miller and found an AK-47 assault rifle with a sawed off stock concealed in his pants. Hessenflow said he was uncooperative with officers and refused to talk to them about the rifle or perform field sobriety tests.
He was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated, possession of marijuana, driving with a suspended license and possession of a firearm by a felon.
“It was a busier night than we thought it would be, but the DWI numbers were within what we expected,” Hessenflow said.
Hessenflow said the number of drunk driving incidents has decreased over the last few years and it might have something to do with the formation of the CPD Downtown Unit and the DWI Enforcement Unit.
“We’ve definitely been able to increase visibility and make sure bars aren’t over-serving and that they’re keeping minors out,” Hessenflow said. “A lot of our alcohol-related incidents and injuries involve minors.”
According to the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, the state has seen a 19 percent decrease in year-to-date vehicle fatalities from 2010. Impaired driving accounts for approximately 30 percent of all Missouri traffic deaths.
“Alcohol is part of the college culture,” Hessenflow said. “We’re not advocating for you to not have fun. We want you to have a good time, but we also want you to make good decisions.”
