Troopers honored for DUI arrests
It was a story of catching two jailbound birds with one stop.
Idaho State Trooper Jeff Jayne, based in Sandpoint, pulled over a driver who appeared to be caravaning with another vehicle. During the stop – which resulted in an arrest for driving under the influence – the second car cruised back and forth, back and forth.
By the fourth pass, Jayne knew something was up. He arrested the second man for driving under the influence. Afterward, the first driver, also arrested for DUI, chastised his friend: “You dummy, why didn’t you just go home?”
It’s one of the more memorable incidents of Jayne’s 78 DUI arrests in the past year, earning him kudos Wednesday at the Kootenai County Substance Abuse Council’s annual Top Cop Award Banquet for DUI arrests.
In 2006, officers made 1,991 DUI arrests in Kootenai County, council Executive Director Anita Kronvall said during the ceremony at Outback Steakhouse in Coeur d’Alene.
“That’s a whale of a lot of people that you went out there and apprehended,” Kronvall said. “We may not see them out there on the road with this problem again.”
She called driving under the influence “a huge problem.”
“I don’t think the general public understands what kind of problem we actually have. I hope they care,” said Kronvall, whose daughter was killed by an impaired driver nearly five years ago. “I don’t want to see this happen to other people.”
Wednesday’s ceremony honored the top eight officers in the area, who racked up a combined 320 arrests in 2006. While Jayne earned honors for the most DUI arrests last year, the Kootenai County Top Cop nod went to Coeur d’Alene police Officer Pat Sullivan, who made 64 arrests.
It’s the fourth time he has earned the honor, said Sullivan, who has 20 years in the department.
He claims no “tricks of the trade,” he said. “Just work traffic … be observant and watch what people do.”
The giveaways can be obvious: not staying in the lane, driving at inconsistent speeds, stopping too soon or too late. He’s also learned to stake out the spots where impaired drivers are known to travel, Sullivan said.
Some arrests can be more heartbreaking than others, he said. He has stopped impaired drivers carting around children not buckled into car seats.
“We’re lucky those situations didn’t turn into fatalities,” Sullivan said. “Repercussions for a drunk driver (are) so far-reaching.”
His advice to those tempted to drive under the influence?
“Coeur d’Alene has a pretty extensive taxi system now,” Sullivan said. “Take advantage of it.”