Showing their influence

Lauren Vane

Don’t drink and drive -- anywhere -- but especially not in Laguna

Beach. That’s the message the community is getting from the Laguna

Beach Police Department after 10 police officers and sergeants were

recognized by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for making a high number

of DUI arrests last year.

At a February City Council meeting, MADD awarded Sgt. Jeff Calvert

and Officers Gavin Hudson, Paul Bixby, Tim Kleiser, Matt Paxton, Pat

Etemade and Larry Bammer with the Deuce Award for making 25 or more

DUI arrests last year.

Motor Officer Tony White, Sgt. Jenny Jones and Sgt. George Ramos

each made more than 100 DUI arrests and will be presented with the

MADD Century Award on April 13 at the Nixon Library.

“I’m very proud of them,” said Police Chief Jim Spreine. “They

recognize that it’s an important issue and that it’s a societal

problem that somewhere along the line people have to take seriously.”

For a police department this size, the achievement is significant,

said Bob Marlowe, the law enforcement liaison for the MADD Orange

County chapter.

“The extraordinary thing about it is that there’s 49 people on the

police department who participated, and 20% of them received the

award,” Marlowe said.

Last year’s DUI arrests numbered more than 600 in Laguna, a figure

that nearly doubled since 2003. Traffic Sgt. Jason Kravetz said these

numbers are up because local police are getting increasingly tough

due to help from a grant that allows for more DUI saturation patrols

and checkpoints.

“I think we actively enforce a lot more than some municipal police

agencies,” Kravetz said.

The grant comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety and

provides for educational resources in addition to increased patrols,

Kravetz said. A pamphlet on driving under the influence is in the

works and Kravetz has plans to send it out to every household in

Laguna.

Funds from the grant are also allowing a theater group to come to

the high school June 1 and perform “You Lose,” a play about the

consequences about driving under the influence, Kravetz said.

The city is known for being tough on drunk drivers, and Kravetz

said the reputation is well-founded. As a beachfront tourist town,

Laguna has plenty of places to party; there are 104 licensed liquor

establishments in town, Kravetz said.

“The nightlife here is very conducive to going out and partying,”

Spreine said.

Compared to other cities of the same size, Laguna has a large

amount of DUI arrests each year, Kravetz said. Laguna is a difficult

town to drive in, with many windy narrow roads that create a

dangerous situation when someone’s had too much to drink, Kravetz

said.

“Over the years I’ve seen many tragedies occur because people are

too intoxicated to get behind the wheel,” Kravetz said.

When police are out on patrol there are several signs that

indicate someone is driving under the influence; weaving all over the

road is a big one, Kravetz said. Speeding, driving too slow or

driving without the lights on at night are also signs of a drunken

driver, Kravetz said.

During a traffic stop if an officer smells alcohol they ask the

driver to get out of the vehicle and the officer will give the driver

a series of field sobriety tests, Kravetz said. Police can put a

driver under arrest on suspicion of drunken driving and will then ask

for either a blood test or breathalyzer, Kravetz said. The legal

limit is .08.

When drivers are arrested for drunken driving the costs can be

high, but there are ways to stop the damage before it starts by not

getting in the car and risking the consequences, said Spreine.

“A cab is cheaper and a lot safer than going to jail,” Spreine

said.

Anyone who lives in Laguna or is visiting can call the police

department if they are too drunk to drive and a police officer will

provide a free ride home, Spreine said.

Spreine said people are often too hesitant to call the “tipsy

taxi” and ride home in a police cruiser, but in the end, a little

embarrassment could save lives.

“Too many people are dying at the hands of a drunk driver or

they’re killing themselves,” Spreine said.