13 DUI arrests at KC checkpoint

From KCPD: The Kansas City Missouri Police Department assisted by Jackson County deputies conducted a Sobriety Checkpoint on March 5, 2010 from 2300 hours to 0400 hours at 13th Street & Pennsylvania (entrance ramp to Southbound I-35).

Westbound traffic was checked with total of 125 vehicles stopped. A total number of 13 DUI arrests were made, along with 1 Driving While Suspended, 1 Hazardous Moving Violation, and 3 other traffic charges.

Comments

[Kevin]

Does anyone know whay they keep having checkpoints on Friday? It seems to me that the more serious drunks would be out on Saturday since they have all day off work to drink.

With that said, this checkpoint was a complete waste of resources. To set up a checkpoint where people leaving P&L to return to Johnson County would be caught, and to only catch 13 drunk drivers is funny to me. The same 20 officers could have caught 20 drunks just driving around.

KCPD is worthless.

[James Hart]

Kevin: Actually, 13 arrests for DUI is a lot, compared to some checkpoints I've seen. I think they probably will start doing more Saturday checkpoints, but this is the first one they've had in a while.

[D-man]

Where is KC Cicero? This topic isn't complete without a comment on detention of Americans in Post-Constitutional America.

[Kevin]

Jim, you are right that this is an increase over other checkpoints but given the area it was held in, you would expect an increase. In fact, I am kinda disappointed by the numbers, because if we are to beleive that DWI is such a serious public issue as KCPD would have you believe, then in reality, there should have been double the arrests at the very least.

During the time frame, people were leaving the P&L district where alcohol is freely sold and they would need to enter the highway at this location to get home.

[Ruth Ann]

Good! that means several lives were probably saved on the roads that night.

[James1313]

Kevin, once again, you are making arguments based on your own assumptions. It is indicative of the same tone you've taken in previous post. We get it, you don't like the KCPD, you think they are worthless, and the alternatives that you present are blatantly obvious. I will reiterate a point I made in a comment I made in response to one of Friday's stories. The KCPD is state controlled department. The DUI checkpoints are part of a bigger statewide initiative aimed at reducing drunk driving incidents. The campaign, "Over the limit, under arrest", is a federal initiative that has been passed on to the states. KCPD is required by the state of Missouri to conduct a certain number of checkpoints a year.

Furthermore, the location and the venue are not chosen at random or with the KCPD's discretion. The locations and times are chosen based on statistical information ascertained through previous arrests.

I am not contesting or disagreeing with any argument about the legality or the constitutionality of DUI checkpoints. I think that there are strong arguments that can be made for both sides. My only point to you would be to change the scope of your arguments. You seem to be able to articulate intelligent arguments that don't take into account the actual scope of issue. Your arguments are narrowly tailored to address your own personal grievances. If you really have an issue with the placement and times of DUI checkpoints, I would encourage you to make an inquiry to the KCPD. There are a handful of Missouri Supreme Court as well as US Supreme Court cases that you can cite to assert your right to this information.

[James Hart]

Kevin: I wonder about the arrest numbers sometimes, too. There've been a few times, when they've had checkpoints near Westport, where the DUI counts seemed really low. I'm not sure if that's because word spreads quickly about the checkpoints, or if -- miracle of miracles -- people are actually using designated drivers.

I'm torn about DUI checkpoints. I understand why a lot of commenters hate them. The Supreme Court allows them, but that legal rationale always felt a little off. And like you say, they don't seem to catch many drunk drivers.

Still, I like that whenever Drunky Dave is knocking back his third or fourth Car Bomb that, somewhere in his mind, there's the recognition/fear that there's a chance -- maybe a thin one -- that he could get caught if he drove drunk.

Wolf packs are one option, but they aren't very visible. And one of the things that police are trying to do is deterrence. There are probably some jerks who just, you know, take a different way home. But there are also others who'll be reminded to do the right thing.

I think Independence usually sets up its checkpoints so that whenever they have one, a wolf pack is usually operating nearby. I like that model a little better than a stand-alone checkpoint.

[Kevin]

James, let me relate a little story to you. A few weeks ago I was stopped in traffic at 13th and Main a little after midnight when a truck ran a red light and struck two pedestrians crossing the street to go to the movies. The truck continued without stopping and I gave chase.

As I was on the phone with 911, I followed the truck for several minutes around downtown waiting for a police officer to join the pursuit. Finally, after the driver parked his truck and fled on foot into a nearby building, officers arrived to take the guy into custody hiding in a stairwell.

As a witness, I stood by for thirty minutes waiting to see if a detective wanted to talk with me. In my mind, the guy was drunk, ran a red ligh, and fled the scene, and continued to flee knowing he was being chased. To me, that equal aggravated assualt not a simple accident.

I just received a call from an insurance adjuster who wanted my recorded statement. The reason being is that KCPD classified this as an accident not a crime. Go figure!!!

The point of my story is this, DWI checkpoints are about money not saving lives. Here was a drunk driver that cause injury to another person and was slapped on the wrist by lazy officers.

[Bill Dikant]

Kevin,
Where did this criminal evade a D.W.I. road block??????.How many Police units were available @ the time of the incident?????.Officers know that IT'S ALL INPROVING who WAS THE operator, AND YOUR WORD IN COURT WILL , WOULD BE SHREDDED LIKE A DOCUMENT BY THE defendants liar 'ER lawyer.
Bill Dikant