Full Notification

CITY OF PETALUMA, CA.

POLICE DEPARTMENT

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/BROADCAST UPDATE

DATE: December 20, 2015

REPORT NUMBER:

OCCURRED DATE AND TIME: December 19 and 20, 2015

INCIDENT: 2 DUI/DL Checkpoints in the city of Petaluma net no DUI arrests.

LOCATION: Petaluma

INVOLVED: ()

SUSPECT VEHICLE:

SUMMARY:

On December 19 the Petaluma Police Dept. conducted two DUI/DL Checkpoints. Checkpoint 1 was on Sonoma Mtn. Parkway south of Corona Rd. and began at 6 PM. Checkpoint number 2 was on East Washington St. west of Lakeville St. and began at 11 PM and ended at 2:15 AM. These locations were selected due to the number of DUI arrests and collision in the past 5 years. Sonoma Mountain Parkway has had 8 DUI collisions with 4 associated injuries and 38 DUI arrests. East Washington St. has had 37 DUI Collisions with 17 associated injuries and 324 DUI arrests.

Officers were monitoring traffic through the two checkpoints looking for drivers who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs or could not provide a current driver’s license.

The following are statistics from the two checkpoints.

Checkpoint 1: Sonoma Mountain Parkway

Vehicles through Checkpoint: 375

Drivers screened through checkpoint: 369

Number of Drivers evaluated for Driving Under the Influence: 11

Drivers cited for driving on a suspended driver’s license: 1

Drivers cited for driving without a license: 4

Probation searches conducted: 1

Checkpoint 2: East Washington St. 

Vehicles through checkpoint: 300

Drivers screened through checkpoint: 300

Number of drivers evaluated for Driving Under the Influence: 13

There were no drivers issued citations during the second checkpoint.

There were no vehicles towed from either checkpoint. Drivers who were cited for driving without a license were allowed to contact someone with a valid driver’s license and have them come take possession of the car at the checkpoint.

In total 669 drivers were screened during the two checkpoints. No DUI arrests were made. Officers working the checkpoint noted there were over 40 Uber or Lyft cars which came through the checkpoint with passengers further indicating the public’s awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving.

Funding for this program has been provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

PREPARED BY: Traffic Sergeant Ron Klein

CONTACT NUMBER: 707-778-4372

EMAIL: [email protected]

Ron Klein; Traffic Sergeant

Petaluma Police Department

969 Petaluma Boulevard North

Petaluma, Ca. 94952

707-778-4372 (main)

707-772-7004 (Cell)

[email protected]