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Coppell DWI Task Force effective during holidays
By James Roth, jroth@acnpapers.com
The Coppell Police Department implemented a Driving While Intoxicated Task Force on Dec. 18 to make sure the streets were safe during the holidays. Because of its success the city looks to implement future task forces throughout the year.
From Dec. 18-31 the task force made 208 traffic stops throughout the city. A total of eight alcohol related arrests were made, something that Sgt. David Moore of the Coppell Police Department saw as very successful.
"We feel the task force did exactly what they were supposed to do -- keep the roads safe," he said. "We did not have any alcohol-related accidents in the city during this time period."
"The purpose of the task force is to let people know that we are out there looking for intoxicated drivers," Moore said. "Coppell has a lot of traffic; it is a cut-through town for people on their way out to Grapevine, Lewisville and other surrounding cities. We are trying to keep our citizens safe."
During the two-week span, six arrests were made for DWI, including one felony. Additionally, one arrest was made for driving under the influence and one arrest for public intoxication. Of those, three consented to providing a breath sample and officers obtained search warrants for the blood of the other four.
"When we suspect someone of having alcohol in their system we will ask them to blow into a breathalyzer," Moore said. "Nowadays many people think if you refuse a breathalyzer you will not get in trouble. We still take you to jail and get a warrant to make the individual give us a sample of their blood, which will be used as evidence later on in court."
Moore added that two of the arrests were made when drivers were so intoxicated they were driving on the wrong side of the road.
In the future, the police department looks to continue implementing the task force throughout the year. Moore said he was not sure if the police would focus solely on holidays or random times throughout the year.
"We are really just trying to get our feet wet with this new task force. We were successful in moving officer schedules around so that no one was working overtime," he said. "We want to do this at various times throughout the year. How many times? We are not sure, but we want our citizens to know we are out there."
Moore asks residents to call 911 immediately if they see any type of hazardous driving going on in Coppell. For information on the DWI Task Force call 972-304-3642.
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