8 Drivers Held at Sobriety Checkpoint

Los Angeles police arrested eight motorists on suspicion of drunk driving during the first two hours of St. Patrick’s Day sobriety checks Monday night in Van Nuys.

Police began stopping northbound traffic on Woodman Avenue at Sylvan Street about 7 p.m. They asked drivers whether they had been drinking, letting most pass but asking some to step out of their cars for field tests. Capt. Mark Stevens of the Valley Traffic Division in Van Nuys said his officers will establish sobriety checkpoints every weekend for the rest of the year.

“Our purpose here is not to make arrests,” said Assistant Police Chief Bob Vernon, who observed officers as they put drivers through sobriety tests in a parking lot at the intersection. “Our purpose is to prevent accidents.”

Monday’s sobriety check was the second in the Valley this year and the fourth since police began the tactic in December in an attempt to reduce the number of drunk drivers, said Capt. Mark Stevens of the Valley Traffic Division.