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Labor Day weekend DWI report light
By Andrew Amelinckx
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
COLUMBIA COUNTY — During last week’s three-day Labor Day weekend many police agencies around the county had extra patrols out looking for drunk drivers. Some agencies found that the number of drunk driving arrests were low, which might be due to an increased awareness of the problem by the public, they said.
Some of the agencies, including the Hudson Police Department, received funding through New York State and Columbia County Stop DWI to help pay for extra patrols.
The STOP-DWI Law returns fine money collected from DWI arrests to counties for anti-DWI programs.
HPD Lt. Richard Paolino said there were extra patrols out over the holiday weekend and that there were three arrests for aggravated unlawful operation of a motor vehicle, but no DWIs reported as of now.
“We were out there,” he said.
He believes this may be due to the nationally aired ant-DWI advertisements on television or possibly from people seeing the number of traffic stops by police being made locally. HPD made 20 traffic stops over the weekend.
State Police Capt. Scott Brown, commander of the Livingston Barracks, said that he believed more people were using designated drivers or remaining at home.
“People are getting smarter,” he said.
There were five DWI arrests made by troopers over the weekend, he said.
These included Julie L. Sitzer, 40, of Valatie, who was stopped Sept. 4 around 11 p.m. in the Town of Kinderhook and charged with DWI and operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content over 0.08 percent; Jason P. Tomlin, 32, of Germantown, who was charged with DWI-first offense after being pulled over in Hudson around 4:47 a.m. on Saturday Sept. 5; and Jose N. Cruz-Calvo, 28, who was stopped Sunday, Sept. 6 around 6 p.m. and arrested by the state police in Kinderhook and charged with aggravated DWI, DWI-first offense, unsafe lane change and having no license. The arrest information on the other two drivers wasn’t available by press time.
Brown said they adjusted the number of patrols during holidays towards “odd hours,” that is, later at night when people might be out driving drunk.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office reported one DWI over the long weekend.
On Saturday, Sept. 5, that agency arrested 28-year-old Thomas Kenny IV of Ghent after a traffic stop on Route 9 in the Town of Ghent around 12:34 a.m. He was charged with DWI and several traffic infractions.
That agency also had extra patrols out, according to Lt. James Andrews.
Chatham Police made one DWI arrest over the weekend as well. Robert B. Sparks, 51, of Liberty, in Sullivan County, was arrested Saturday, Sept. 5 after a traffic stop and charged with DWI, driving with a blood alcohol content of greater than 0.08 percent and speeding .
Greenport Police made one related arrest.
Naomi Greene, 26, of Hudson was charged with felony DWI and aggravated DWI for having a BAC greater than 0.18 percent by Greenport Police Officer Christopher Link.
She was stopped while leaving the Hess Station on Route 9 in Greenport after police received complaints of a drunk woman at the gas station.
Authorities stated her BAC was 0.22.
According to BloodAlcoholContent.Org’s Web site, when a person’s BAC is between 0.21 to 0.29, stupor and blackouts can occur and motor skills are severely impaired.
BAC is measured by dividing grams of alcohol by 100 milliliters of blood. In New York State the legal limit is 0.08 percent, which means that for every 100 ml of blood, there is 8 grams of alcohol in the blood stream.
It is also illegal to drive while under the influence of any combination of drugs or alcohol that impairs your ability to operate a motor vehicle. A 0.05 BAC can lead to a driving while ability impaired charge.
According to the state Department of Motor Vehicles, one third of all traffic fatalities in New York State involve impaired or intoxicated drivers and pedestrians. And increased blood alcohol content makes the chances of an accident worse. Again according the DMV, a driver with a BAC of 0.08 is four times as likely to cause an accident as a sober driver, while a driver with a BAC of 0.16 is 25 times as likely to do so.
To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx call 518- 828-1616, ext. 2267 or e-mail aamelinckx@registerstar.com.
Some of the agencies, including the Hudson Police Department, received funding through New York State and Columbia County Stop DWI to help pay for extra patrols.
The STOP-DWI Law returns fine money collected from DWI arrests to counties for anti-DWI programs.
HPD Lt. Richard Paolino said there were extra patrols out over the holiday weekend and that there were three arrests for aggravated unlawful operation of a motor vehicle, but no DWIs reported as of now.
“We were out there,” he said.
He believes this may be due to the nationally aired ant-DWI advertisements on television or possibly from people seeing the number of traffic stops by police being made locally. HPD made 20 traffic stops over the weekend.
State Police Capt. Scott Brown, commander of the Livingston Barracks, said that he believed more people were using designated drivers or remaining at home.
“People are getting smarter,” he said.
There were five DWI arrests made by troopers over the weekend, he said.
These included Julie L. Sitzer, 40, of Valatie, who was stopped Sept. 4 around 11 p.m. in the Town of Kinderhook and charged with DWI and operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content over 0.08 percent; Jason P. Tomlin, 32, of Germantown, who was charged with DWI-first offense after being pulled over in Hudson around 4:47 a.m. on Saturday Sept. 5; and Jose N. Cruz-Calvo, 28, who was stopped Sunday, Sept. 6 around 6 p.m. and arrested by the state police in Kinderhook and charged with aggravated DWI, DWI-first offense, unsafe lane change and having no license. The arrest information on the other two drivers wasn’t available by press time.
Brown said they adjusted the number of patrols during holidays towards “odd hours,” that is, later at night when people might be out driving drunk.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office reported one DWI over the long weekend.
On Saturday, Sept. 5, that agency arrested 28-year-old Thomas Kenny IV of Ghent after a traffic stop on Route 9 in the Town of Ghent around 12:34 a.m. He was charged with DWI and several traffic infractions.
That agency also had extra patrols out, according to Lt. James Andrews.
Chatham Police made one DWI arrest over the weekend as well. Robert B. Sparks, 51, of Liberty, in Sullivan County, was arrested Saturday, Sept. 5 after a traffic stop and charged with DWI, driving with a blood alcohol content of greater than 0.08 percent and speeding .
Greenport Police made one related arrest.
Naomi Greene, 26, of Hudson was charged with felony DWI and aggravated DWI for having a BAC greater than 0.18 percent by Greenport Police Officer Christopher Link.
She was stopped while leaving the Hess Station on Route 9 in Greenport after police received complaints of a drunk woman at the gas station.
Authorities stated her BAC was 0.22.
According to BloodAlcoholContent.Org’s Web site, when a person’s BAC is between 0.21 to 0.29, stupor and blackouts can occur and motor skills are severely impaired.
BAC is measured by dividing grams of alcohol by 100 milliliters of blood. In New York State the legal limit is 0.08 percent, which means that for every 100 ml of blood, there is 8 grams of alcohol in the blood stream.
It is also illegal to drive while under the influence of any combination of drugs or alcohol that impairs your ability to operate a motor vehicle. A 0.05 BAC can lead to a driving while ability impaired charge.
According to the state Department of Motor Vehicles, one third of all traffic fatalities in New York State involve impaired or intoxicated drivers and pedestrians. And increased blood alcohol content makes the chances of an accident worse. Again according the DMV, a driver with a BAC of 0.08 is four times as likely to cause an accident as a sober driver, while a driver with a BAC of 0.16 is 25 times as likely to do so.
To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx call 518- 828-1616, ext. 2267 or e-mail aamelinckx@registerstar.com.
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terryfoutch wrote on Sep 13, 2009 6:58 AM: