The state-wide Drunk Driving: Over the Limit, Under Arrest campaign that Emporia Police Department participated in through Labor Day netted many arrests and citations for violations around Emporia.
Sgt. Ed Owens, of the Emporia Police Department, said the department conducted about 24 assignments that were reimbursed by the state of Kansas during the time period.
During the campaign, the police department made five DUI arrests; three arrests for suspended driver’s license; three arrests for transporting an open container; one arrest for an open beer in public; two child in need of care arrests; 11 stop light violations; 18 vehicle defect citations; two seatbelt citations; two citations for careless driving; two citations for driving around construction barricades; one citation for drag racing; one citation for an illegal u-turn; one citation for driving left of center; one citation for driving without headlights; one citation for violation of driver’s license restrictions; and five parking violations.
“All the contacts above were conducted in the city limits,” Owens said in a press release. “The state had allocated an additional 18 slots that the department could not complete due to our limited staffing levels which prevented officers from conducting enforcement on the part of Interstate Highway 35 which is in the city limits of Emporia.
Emporia Police Chief Gary Smith commented on the extra enforcement.
“The contacts made by Emporia officers is a snapshot of what motorists can expect while driving on any given roadway in any given community at any time,” Smith said. “The violations were over a two-week period of time. The state funding for such enforcement activities provides an opportunity to put out additional officers in the community during holidays and special events that normally would require officers on regular duty to respond to driving complaints and accidents. It’s not the number of contacts made that is so important, it’s the message of being aware and driving safe and sober.”