BRIEFLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Watch for ‘treaters’ on Halloween night

Laguna Beach police are cautioning drivers to be aware that trick-or-treaters may be out in force in neighborhoods for Halloween tonight.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that the number of deaths among young pedestrians, ages 5 to 14, is four times higher on Halloween than any other evening of the year. Halloween is also one of the most dangerous holidays on the road due to alcohol-related crashes. Two-thirds of all highway fatalities at Halloween are alcohol-related.

For motorists, the scariest part of Halloween is children dressed in dark colors and in costumes that cover their eyes out walking on streets and roadways at dusk when many adults are still driving home from work.

The most dangerous time for collisions between motor vehicles and young pedestrians is between 4 and 8 p.m. “” prime trick-or-treating time.

Drivers should be aware that 84% of deaths among young pedestrians occurred at non-intersection locations “” indicating children are likely to dart from mid-block into the street.

Woman arrested, man cited on drug charges

A Lake Forest woman was arrested at 5:06 p.m. Oct. 17 in the 300 block of Park Avenue after a passerby noticed a couple sitting in a parked sport utility vehicle apparently smoking marijuana, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Bob Rahaeuser said.

Police detained the pair, Debra Lee Stanley, 38, and her husband, Darrell Gene Stanley, 40, and searched the vehicle. When the woman said that methamphetamine found in the vehicle was hers, she was arrested on suspicion of possessing a dangerous drug. Her husband was issued a citation for possessing a small amount of marijuana.

Woman faces DUI, endangerment charges

A Laguna Beach woman was arrested on suspicion of DUI and child endangerment after police were alerted to a possible drunken driver at 7:11 p.m. Oct. 22, Sgt. Jason Kravetz said.

A citizen notified police that his vehicle had been backed into by a possible drunk driver at Laguna Avenue and South Coast Highway, and he was following the driver. Officers located the vehicle, a Mercedes SUV at Wilson and Seaview streets, and stopped the driver, administering a field sobriety test.

After Susan Mellott Dodge, 43, of Laguna Beach, was arrested on suspicion of DUI, police discovered that a 4-year-old male was in the vehicle and charged her with felony child endangerment.

Ex-employee jailed after several fights

A 29-year-old Costa Mesa man was arrested at 10:25 p.m. Oct. 23 on suspicion of assault after police broke up a fight at his former place of employment, a restaurant in the 600 block of South Coast Highway, Kravetz said.

The suspect, Shane M. Sutton, was taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries received during the fight.

The next day, Sutton was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of battery after a fight on Arroyo Chico, after police were called to the residence at 6:17 p.m. and again shortly after 9 p.m. On the second occasion, he was taken to Orange County Jail after booking, Kravetz said.

Woman accused of DUI with child in car

Laguna Beach resident Katherine K. Averill, 36, was arrested on suspicion of DUI and child endangerment after she was stopped for a traffic violation at 4:14 p.m. Oct. 24 at Glenneyre and Calliope streets. The officer who pulled her over started a DUI investigation after he smelled alcohol on her breath. Averill was on probation from a previous DUI arrest in 2006, Kravetz said. Inside the vehicle were two male juveniles, 10 and 11, resulting in the charge of child endangerment.

Battalion Chiefs to get more days off

Fire Department battalion chiefs were awarded an additional four days a year administrative leave by the City Council.

City Manager Ken Frank is empowered to grant zero to 15 days of administrative leave to each of the battalion chiefs. However, an increase in a maximum number of days to 19, as recommended by Frank, required a resolution approved by the council.

As management employees, battalion chiefs do not receive overtime pay for working more than 40 hours a week. They are on-call 121 nights a year.

Frank said the increase in administrative leave is fair remuneration for the extra time and effort put in by the chiefs.

The resolution was adopted unanimously at the Oct. 21 council meeting.