THE BATTALION
MONDAY. MARCH IQ iqtq
Page 3
ins
n up
impu s
I early
«n 8-5
arrests in county in 1978
WIs — a continuing problem
[By DAVID BOGGAJN
Battalion Staff
under
obeof
lie in-
s, said
tee on
i sell-
ligher
1, Bob
“We
eview
ibably
Corp.
ies
rdit of
jrday.
) have
tty re-
>e the
1 com-
e Car
on for
ces
er sev-
ices at
liar in-
as this
, 1981,
/ithout
such a
■ar and
d.
ms
It’s Saturday night and John Doe,
citizen of the Bryan-College Sta-
ion community, has just left a party
t a friend’s apartment. He has been
rinking steadily all evening, and al-
he faintly remembers a tele-
ision commercial warning against
riving after drinking, John slowly
'ets behind the driver s seat.
“I don’t get drunk,” he reasons to
ilf. "And besides, 1 drive better
fter a few drinks.”
So, John starts his car and heads
br home. As he drives down the
fMjJie swerves into the next lane
ken jerks suddenly back into his
wnmne.
Almost immediately, John notices
le flashing lights of a law enforce-
ent officer’s vehicle in his rear
ew mirror. The officer stops John
id meets him as he is getting out of
s car After observing John and
Meeting sufficient evidence, the of-
:er informs him that he is being
rested for driving while intoxi-
ted — DVV7.
“A drunk in a car is like a person
aving a loaded .357 magnum in a
owd, says Lt. Gene Knowles of
e Bliyan Police Department.
In that light, there are untold mil-
>ns of “trigger happy” drunk driv-
s on[ the streets and highways of
is nation. John and the thousands
ce him who do get stopped are in
e minority.
But John was lucky. He was stop-
;d before he caused property dam-
;e, injury or death. According to
e National Safety Council, alcohol
a factor in half of all highway
alities.
The Texas Highway Patrol re-
irted making 40,621 DWI arrests
1978, 177 of them in Brazos
runty That year, the College Sta-
>n police Department recorded
.o ii.ia >2 DWI arrests while the Bryan
ration dice Department made 302 DWI
ation’s r f sts
A police officer cannot stop a
:rson for being drunk,” says Lt.
ason Newton of the College Sta
in Police Department. “But he
n stop him for a traffic violation,
e weaving across the line down
e mipdle of the road. But the offi-
r mijst make sure there is a viola-
on,”
“We get as much evidence as we
in tolprove our case that this per-
~ isldrunk,” Newton says. “If
is the smell of alcohol on the
son, if his speech is slurred, if his
s are bloodshot, we know he has
either drinking or using drugs,
most cases.
If we ask him for his license and
H trouble getting it out of his
Hthat is still another reason for
officer to suspect this person is
toxicated. And we can conduct
f imary field tests. For example, it
lawful to ask a person to walk a
raight line. He does not have to
mply, but he is going to be ar-
stedjand charged with DWI if he
esni.”
If, in the eyes of the officer, the
rson is drunk, he is arrested and
vised of his rights. He is then
cen [to the Brazos County Cour-
ouse where the evidence-
hering process is continued.
In Texas, a person is considered
oxicated if he has a . 10 percent
ohol content in his blood. This
/el is usually determined by a
eathalizer test made after the per-
a has been arrested.
law enforcement agencies in
County use the breathalizer
tchine at the Brazos County Cour-
ause. In a process that takes about
minutes, the arrested person
eathes into the device which
alyzes the alcohol content of his
>od.
If he breathes a .10 or above, he
11 be held for the night (most DWI
rests occur at night) and brought
fore the county judge in the
liming, where bond is set. If he
eathes less than a . 10, he can still
ticketed for the traffic violation or
'public intoxication.
“If the person has a Texas driver’s
ense, he is required to take the
lizer test on request of the
implied consent law. If the person
refuses, which he has the right to
do, his license can be suspended by
the Department of Public Safety for
one year upon conviction of a
DWI.”
County Attorney John M. Barron
Jr., who prosecutes DWI offenders,
explains that, depending on circum
stances, a DWI conviction can be
labeled a felony.
“If we can get the first-time of
fender to plead guilty, he will usu
ally be put on probation,” Barron
says. “But we have numerous re
peaters. After the first probation,
the second DWI charge will lead to
a (misdemeanor) conviction and the
next is a felony.”
Barron says that the punishment
for a DWI conviction can range from
three days to two years in jail and
from $50-500 fine. But the offender
is not the only one who pays for a
DWI conviction.
“DWI is very time-consuming to
us in law enforcement,” Knowles
says. “When we re fooling around
with a drunk, we re not protecting
businesses and homes.”
Says Newton, “It takes a
minimum of an hour and a half to
process a DWI offender. As a good
estimate, with the paperwork and
all, I would say two hours would be
a good average.
“That takes a (patrol) car off the
streets for two hours. It takes a
two-man unit off the streets, also.”
It is interesting to note that there
were almost twice as many DWI ar
rests in Bryan as in College Station
in 1978. This can be explained par
tially by the fact that the College
Station police do not automatically
charge a first offender with DWI.
“We feel like DWI is a pretty
heavy burden for, say, an 18-year-
old who’s been out celebrating his
birthday to handle,” Newton ex
plains. “So no, we don’t charge the
first offender with DWI in every
circumstance. Now, if there is prop
erty damage or if it is a second of
fense, we are going to charge him.
But none of this is to say that we
condone driving and drinking in any
way. ”
Knowles says, “If he (an intoxi
cated person) is driving, we file
DWI. It is a time-consuming pro
cess. We may have four officers
working on one DWI. But it is our
policy.”
Newton finds another reason for
the difference in the two cities’
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and Centui
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ay^April 10th
dder Auditorium
said
n of
g at-
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DWI arrest records.
“There are two totally different
environments,” the College Station
officer says. “College Station has
more of a college atmosphere where
students party and drink and raise
hell. But we don’t have a wino situa
tion.
“That is not to say that Bryan has
a bunch of winos. I just think that
there are a lot less DWI elements
from a college crowd than there are
from an occupational force.”
Newton says that the atmo
spheres of the local drinking estab
lishments also have something to do
with the difference.
“In our city, students drink, but
the majority don’t go out to just
drink,” he says. “They go out to
drink and eat, or chase women or
play pinball.
“And there is always a big crowd,
both at clubs and at parties, so
everybody doesn’t get polluted real
bad. They run out of beer before
they can.”
Newton says that he thinks the
clientele of Bryan clubs go there
mainly to drink.
“I don’t think that we have DWI
problem that bad,” Newton says.
“But, of course, one DWI is bad. ”
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Bryan, Texas 77801
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