CLEARWATER
POLICE TARGETING IMPAIRED DRIVERS
‘Wolfpack’ Plans Strict Enforcement throughout
Labor Day Weekend
|
NEWS
UPDATE
9/8/00
This county-wide operation resulted in
-
1025 total traffic citations
- 237
for excessive speed
-
99 for failure to wear seatbelts
-
23 charges for driving on suspended or revoked licenses
-
63 arrests for D.U.I
|
Clearwater
Police in conjunction with other Pinellas County law enforcement
agencies, through the Pinellas County Community Traffic Safety
Team, will conduct a high-profile sobriety saturation of Pinellas
County roadways throughout the coming weekend – targeting
impaired drivers and occupant restraint violations, Clearwater
Police Chief Sid Klein announced today.
The
weekend’s program is aimed at reducing the number of injuries
and deaths typically associated with drinking and driving and
seat belt usage.
The
"wolfpack" operation will kick off with a press
conference at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, September 1, 2000 in
the Clearwater Mall parking lot next to Gayfer’s. Actual operations
begin shortly afterwards and will continue throughout the weekend
until the early morning hours of Tuesday.
Law
enforcement agencies throughout Pinellas County will take part
in this joint operation. Labor Day weekend is typically a large
party weekend since it is the last long weekend of summer. Law
enforcement officers will be targeting drivers who have imbibed
too much and those who are not wearing seat belts.
Lieutenant
Steve Burch, Clearwater Police Department Traffic Section Commander
is coordinating the operation and said that officers will be using
video-equipped cars to document suspected drunken motorists’ driving,
and a mobile breath-test van to bring facilities to test each
suspected drunken driver at the scene of the stop.
The
Tampa Bay area media is encouraged to advance the information
contained in this release, and is invited to chronicle the weekend’s
activities. Enforcement results will be made available early next
week. Media officials are invited to the press conference on Friday,
September 1, 2000, beginning at 6:00 p.m., in the Clearwater Mall
parking lot next to Gayfers.
For
additional details regarding the DUI "wolfpack" operation,
please contact Lieutenant Steve Burch at 562-4161.
/s/
SID KLEIN
Chief
of Police