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Tuesday, February 9, 2010 |
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County’s ‘No Refusal’ holiday a success
Published September 5, 2008
SEGUIN — Not that anybody might want it for a transfusion, but a half dozen people “donated” blood to Guadalupe County over the recent holiday weekend.
That doesn’t mean they all volunteered, though.
Alarmed by increasing numbers of motorists who refuse to provide breath samples when stopped for suspected drunken driving in an attempt to gain legal advantage in court, County Attorney Elizabeth Murray-Kolb, the county’s judges and its law enforcement agencies joined together over the holiday for a three-day “no refusal” weekend.
In other words, blood warrants would be sought for anyone who refused to blow into the Breathalyzer tube after being stopped for allegedly driving while intoxicated.
Over the course of the three-day weekend, Sheriff Arnold Zwicke reported providing sleeping facilities to 11 alleged drunken drivers — two on Friday, seven on Saturday and two on Sunday, which Zwicke said was probably about routine for such a weekend.
“It’s really hard to say,” Zwicke said. “I think that’s pretty much probably the average.”
Murray-Kolb said her staff attorneys and investigators worked around the clock over the holiday to support the county’s law enforcement officers who stopped suspected drunken drivers who refused to submit to a breath test when asked.
While the prosecutor said she had expected a few more drunken drivers over the holiday, she believed it likely that publicity about the weekend cut into some peoples’ partying plans.
“We weren’t really sure what our numbers would be,” said Murray-Kolb. “They were certainly fewer than we expected. We think it’s a sign the public was aware of the stance we are taking on this issue. One thing we didn’t have was a single alcohol-related accident or death, and that’s success any way you look at it.”
“That was our whole goal,” Assistant County Attorney Britt Eastland said. “If you’ve had too much to drink, don’t get in your car and drive in Guadalupe County.”
Of the nine suspected drunken drivers Eastland or assistant county attorneys Joe Buitron, Nan Udell or Lauren Lefton assisted with at the sheriff’s office, three voluntarily gave breath samples, while three others sought the opportunity for a blood test.
Three others, Eastland said, had to be compelled by a judge.
Eastland or whichever attorney was on overnight duty would draw up the warrant, and Murray-Kolb’s investigators, Frank Allenger or Mike Watts, would run the paperwork over to the home of whichever judge — B.B. Schraub, Frank Follis, Linda Z. Jones, Dwight Peschel or W.C. Kirkendall — was on call. Then, warrant-in-hand, the investigator would go back to the sheriff’s office to provide the information to the police officer who made the stop — who presented it to a phlebotomist who then drew the blood.
Murray-Kolb said every law enforcement agency in the county — Department of Public Safety, Seguin, Cibolo and Schertz police, sheriff’s deputies, jailers and constables — participated in the enforcement effort.
“We’re really happy how this worked out with the help of all the law enforcement agencies,” Murray-Kolb said. “But I’d also like to mention my staff. I’m so proud of them. They don’t get paid overtime, and this was virtually voluntary on their part. We just couldn’t be more pleased with the cooperation and the professionalism everyone showed in seeing that the roads were safer.”
Zwicke said the public should be recognized also for its part — for showing restraint on a heavy traffic weekend that’s also considered summer’s last big party.
“We’d like to thank the public for cooperating and for getting the message,” Zwicke said. “Know your limit, and don’t drink and drive.”
If you find yourself out and drinking, Zwicke said, always use a designated driver or call someone to come get you — lest a sheriff’s deputy do it and provide you with a less-than-comfortable place to sleep it off.
Murray-Kolb said her office would build on the success of this first “no refusal” weekend by conducting more of them soon — perhaps very, very soon.
One possibility, she said, would be a regional effort with neighbors in Comal and other counties.
Another possibility Murray-Kolb said she was considering was conducting unannounced ongoing “no refusal” efforts in effort to curb local drunken driving.
“The point of making them public is that it’s a deterrent,” Murray-Kolb said. “That doesn’t mean we have to publicize them, though.”
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