Costa Mesa clamps down on drunk drivers

Despite the heavy eyelids and wobbly step, the young woman who almost hit a police officer with her car insisted to officers that she’d only had one wine cooler to drink that night.

After observing her behavior, Costa Mesa police officers called for the DUI team. Pulling up in a white Chevy Tahoe, Officers Scott Dibble and Allen Rieckhof greeted the woman and methodically took her through the standard field sobriety tests, checking her pupils and instructing her to stand on one leg and walk a straight line.

After the woman tipped over during the test and registered far more than the legal limit on the breathalyzer, Dibble and Rieckhof arrested her on suspicion of drunk driving. She cried as she was escorted into the back of the police SUV.

This young woman was one of the 275 people that Dibble and Rieckhof have arrested since starting their enforcement more than three months ago. It’s not a department record, but the number of arrests is extremely high, and traffic officials say it’s a reminder that Costa Mesa won’t tolerate drunk drivers.

“We’re tired of people getting injured and killed because they’re driving drunk or irresponsibly,” Costa Mesa Sgt. Rich Allum said.

Along with the DUI patrols, the city has launched public service announcements shown in local movie theaters and is applying for two grants that will help them combat underage drinking.

“We’re hitting it hard from all different angles,” Costa Mesa Sgt. Bob Durham said.

Saturation enforcement such as the DUI patrols and DUI checkpoints does make a difference, said Gail Butler, executive director of the Orange County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

“Drunk driving is a 100% preventable crime, and I think that high visibility enforcement ? is perhaps the single best way to bring down these numbers,” Butler said.

The department started doing specific DUI enforcement in 1986, and in the last five years the teams have arrested more than 900 people each year for drunk driving, Costa Mesa Lt. Dave Andersen said.

“It sends a strong message that driving under the influence is not accepted in Costa Mesa,” said Mayor Allan Mansoor, himself an Orange County Sheriff’s deputy.

Dibble and Rieckhof have finished their rotation on DUI enforcement and have been replaced with another team that’s already hit the streets. Working the DUI detail isn’t an easy assignment, officials said. Dibble and Rieckhof have dealt with drunk drivers from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. four days a week for 90 days.

“It’s a tough shift, because they work very, very hard and they work long hours,” Durham said.

Each DUI enforcement team patrols specifically for drunk drivers and is also called to administer field sobriety tests when requested by other officers. The team uses a white SUV, a marked police car that has no lights on the outside and has a large truck for a portable breathalyzer machine.

“The car blends into normal traffic,” Dibble said. “People don’t realize we’re a police car until it’s too late for them.”

Costa Mesa’s DUI enforcement doesn’t stop at catching drunks already behind the wheel ? police are also educating bars and restaurants not to serve already-drunk patrons.

“It establishes accountability at the place of origin,” Andersen said.