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Friday, July 6, 2012 | 6:17 p.m.
Thirty drivers were arrested on DUI charges at two sobriety checkpoints conducted July 3-4, Metro Police officials said.
Through a joint effort of valley police departments, potential drunken drivers had to pass through 34 officers, a DUI Van and a phlebotomist, officials said. More than 4,000 cars funneled through the checkpoints, and 81 drivers were tested, officials said.
Officials said the checkpoints were designed to cut down on drunken driving incidents during the celebratory holiday. A Nevada Office of Traffic Safety “Joining Forces” grant helped pay for the checkpoints, officials said.
Metro Police, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, Mesquite Police Department and Nevada Highway Patrol participated in the effort, officials said.
I applaud metro for keeping the streets safe!! Increase them even more next year and every year after until the # hits 0.
42 percent is a high number of those tested to be drunk, glad they were taken off the road.
Free drinks in the casino. These guys and girls are getting TANKED on "free" booze, jumping in their cars after 4-5 gin and tonics, Merlots, etc. There are probably more impaired drivers in this city than anywhere on the planet..
Keep up the DUI stops.
TomD1,
I too applaud Metro for the good work, but let me assure you, those drinks in the casino sure ain't free!
Don't put up with these clowns. Know your rights. Here's how to handle these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILqc0DMh8...
If everyone would stop letting the cops trample on their rights we could end these traffic tie-ups and wasted police resources.
Good on LV Metro!!!
Surrounding cities need to copy them...Boulder City and Henderson for example.
I must admit that people in this town have lowered the bar so much that it even surprises me. THIRTY people, really, stopped at checkpoints that were advertised AND shown on TV, what a bunch of NIMRODS. What concerns me is that if there were this many dummies that got caught, how many were really driving impaired on the road over that two day period.
"Don't put up with these clowns." ??? Let's not put up with drunk drivers. Thank you Metro.
Wish they would start printing their names in the paper.
thepalms999..thank you for the video! Fantastic! And if you were the one who filmed it, HATS OFF TOO YOU, YOU ARE MY HERO! And it's so great that it was the BC cops, the most bloated, overstaffed police force, with the least to do, of any I have ever seen.
Questions: What are the legal ramifications? Can the police get you out of the car? What do you do/say if they ask? Do you have to comply? Are there any legal ramifications to filming? What can the police do about filming?
These stops are repression, plain and simple. If you are driving poorly, swerving, etc., of course the police should be able to stop you and cite you for drunken driving. However, these road blocks were the first step in institutionalized police repression in this country. It then continues with cameras practically on every corner (you know, like the ones Mitt Romney's company sold to the Communist Chinese to help repress their population). Next, they want breathalyzers in your car berfore they will start, and "insurance" GPS's to monitor your driving.
Folks, people need to notice when our small freedoms are being denied. Otherwise, we will all have 1984-like telescreens in our houses soon.
Hang 'em high, as far as I am concerned. There is no excuse for DUI - period! As far as checkpoints - nuts to that. Stopping the crazies, drunk or sober, on our roadways should be a top priority everyday! Instead, what are Metro cops forced to do? Waste their time arresting disabled veterans on the Strip who are giving water away! Is this what we want our cops to put ahead of making our streets safer for those of us who are responsible, courteous and careful motorists? I think not.
I hate the need for checkpoints but I hate drunk drivers more.
ThePalms999 is my new hero. Excellent way to handle the situation.
The article does not say where the checkpoints were, I would be interested in the percentage of locals Vs tourists.
ThePalms999 is a clown... THANK YOU METRO!! Next year/ holiday double yet triple your DUI checkpoint presence and put an end to DUI driving all together - send a tough message that IF you drive drunk, you will get caught and I also wish they wouldn't tell us where they were going to be... LIFE > Rights...
Palms999. The responsible thing to do would have been to politely say "I choose not to answer..." instead of the silent treatment. Thats just rude. Big deal, he got thru. He could have accomplished the same thing by saying he didn't have anything to drink. If they smelled alcohol he would have been subjected to further investigation regardless.
Drunk drivers suck but checkpoints are illegal and violate our rights.
"Drunk drivers suck but checkpoints are illegal and violate our rights."
Checkpoints have been declared legal. You don't know what you are saying. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3. Case closed.
Michigan Dept. of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444 (1990), was a United States Supreme Court case involving the constitutionality of police sobriety checkpoints. By a vote of 6-3, the Court held that these checkpoints met the Fourth Amendment standard of "reasonable search and seizure"
VegasGM85, do you not realize the danger with your line of thinking? Life is greater than rights? People have given their lives to protect those rights, including trivial ones like refusing to participate in a DUI checkpoint. You spit on the fourth amendment and sell out all of the people who have fought so hard to protect it when you trade your freedom for security. Is there no limit to the freedom you will give up? Today you accept a minor inconvenience and invasion of privacy when you allow an officer with no probable cause to question you. What's next? Will you give up all of your privacy and allow the police to check in on any aspect of your life if it means saving lives?
The video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILqc0DMh8...) is not mine, I'm just a fan. The guy in the video handled the situation perfectly. There is no need to be rude to the officers, but there is also no need to be polite to people who have decided that they will hassle citizens without probable cause.
Oh, yes. Give up liberty in pursuit of ... No more checkpoints, Charlie.
thepalms999,
since when is driving a constitutional right? its a privilege. i agree that cops should obey our constitutional rights, but the high court of the land has deemed that dui checkpoints are constitutional. so i dont see how they cops are taking away your rights with checkpoints...
NRS 484B.580 Failure to stop at roadblock; penalties.
1. It is unlawful for a person to:
(a) Proceed or travel through an administrative roadblock or a temporary roadblock without subjecting himself or herself to the traffic control established at the roadblock.
(b) Disobey the lawful orders or directions of a police officer at an administrative roadblock or a temporary roadblock.
2. A person who unlawfully proceeds through an administrative roadblock or a temporary roadblock shall be punished:
(a) If the person is the direct cause of a death or substantial bodily harm to any person, or damage to property in excess of $1,000, for a category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years, or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by both fine and imprisonment.
(b) If no death, substantial bodily harm or damage to property in excess of $1,000 occurs, for a gross misdemeanor.
(Added to NRS by 1987, 1073; A 1995, 1298)--(Substituted in revision for NRS 484.3595)
notfromhere06, driving is no more a privilege than walking on the sidewalk, using the internet, or doing any other daily activity. We are protected from being interrogated by the police if they do not have probable cause. Driving, walking, etc. does not mean you give up your rights. There are certain conditions that go along with being issued a license (like being forced to give a blood sample in some states if suspected of DUI), but these are still bound by probable cause restrictions. Driving through a checkpoint does not constitute probable cause. That's why the police eventually had to let the man in the video through. They knew it, and he was one of the rare people who actually knew and exerted his rights. I'm proposing that everyone refuse to cooperate with an invasion of our privacy. This is a small inconvenience, but has huge implications.
Drowsyangel, what does that have to do with anything? It is clearly a statute regarding traffic control and has no bearing on giving up information to the police without probable cause. Yes, you are required to go through the checkpoint and stop if you encounter one. Yes, you must obey LAWFUL orders of a police officer. The police can not lawfully demand that you answer their questions if they have stopped you without probable cause. That is why they let the guy in the video go despite his refusal to answer. They can't do anything about it but still try to intimidate and bully the public, knowing that most people don't understand that they have the right to refuse cooperation. Look how much they hassled the guy even with him pointing a camera in their face. Guess what happens when there is no camera?
If you are under the influence, there are other ways police can make that determination (and they will) without you actually telling them. Remaining quiet doesn't mean "free pass", it just means more scrutinizing by them. In the end you are causing more delay for other motorists by being a jerk off. If you haven't had a drink, say so and move on.
You always get the radical constitutionalists thinking they can circumvent the reasonable request of the police. In the end, if you are inebriated, intoxicated or have had a few drinks...they will determine that with or without you talking. If you haven't had a drink and take this stupid course of action called the silent treatment, you're just inconveniencing your fellow motorists. That's considered self centered behavior. It's all about me. Screw everyone else waiting to get thru.
Right, there are other was for the police to determine that you are driving intoxicated. Ways that involve probable cause and not invading the privacy of everyone who happens to drive through a checkpoint. No one ever said remaining silent is a free pass to get out of a DUI. I'm not the one causing the delay, the police are. They are the jerk offs who set up the roadblock and inconvenience everyone instead of doing their job the right way.
I don't think I'm a radical constitutionalist. I'm a law abiding citizen who shouldn't be delayed and hassled by the police when I haven't done anything wrong. I guess if obeying the rules and not wanting to be hassled is self centered then I'm as selfish as they come. I also don't want the police to stop and frisk me for weapons anytime I walk down the sidewalk. Would you be OK with that or are you too self centered? It might save lives!