Local, county and state enforcement agencies will announce on Wednesday afternoon — days before the holiday weekend — a joint effort to crack down on drivers who operate under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Dubbed Operation NiteCAP, a statement from the office of District Attorney Thomas Spota announced Tuesday that an East End DWI Task Force would "employ a team approach, without regard to jurisdictional boundaries, to protect local residents and visitors to eastern Long Island from drunk and drugged drivers."
“Local police departments in the five towns and villages don’t have the resources to focus solely on drunk and drugged drivers on holiday weekends,” Spota said. “This team strategy will augment local law enforcement and make the expansion of the enforcement action on the east end more mobile and responsive.”
Run under the auspices of the D.A., the efforts of the task force will begin Friday evening.
Suffolk County Sheriff Vincent DeMarco is also expected to be on hand, as are members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a nationwide non-profit organization aimed at curbing drunk driving incidents.
Wednesday's press conference is scheduled for 12:30 in Riverhead, in the parking lot by the Peconic Riverfront.
To drive to the next bart while the person trying to male a living gets arrested. It is a loophole in the lae and I wish someone would address it.
Time to change the rules. Advanced audio/video systems make the breathalyzer unnecessary. If a suspect passes the roadside sobriety test (coordination), he should be released. We should be arresting drivers who are genuinely a menace, not ones that register a particular digit on a meter. The present system corrupts police departments by accustoming cops to making busts that they know are unjust. That attitude becomes habitual and defines their professional behavior in circumstances other than DWI busts (as is exemplified in the current investigation of the STPD.)
put in harms way every single day,and the money they make does not equal what our local officers make. You know part of the reason the county is in such dire economic shape is because of our overpaid law enforcement. It's nonthing against the officers it's just a fact.
Add to that the demands teachers unions have imposed, the parents who think you can buy better education simply by paying more and the fact the police have to validate their existence with numbers to say nothing of the imposing force MADD has lobbying in Washington. One can only wonder what, if anything, would suffer if both teachers and police in the area were paid salaries/benefits similar to the civilian average in the area. Just a thought...
That said, I'm glad there's a DWI task force set up. My entire family (6 of us) was narrowly missed by a very, very drunk driver after the St. Pat's parade this year. We purposefully went out of town to avoid the drunks that day and on the way back home a severely drunken man crossed our lane sideways in front of us and slammed into a tree, badly injuring the woman who was with him. Had it been a split second later, or had we not been paying attention, he would have sideswiped us at a high speed and probably rolled our vehicle. He never should have made it as far as he did (drinking in Montauk, the accident happened in Wainscott). We live in Montauk and want to LIVE - not hide inside from the drunks. We want to ride our bikes and play and get out. We don't want to have to worry about every other car on the road being a hazard to our kid's lives. Particularly in Montauk, as it's the place to be for the young "hipster" party crowd that really don't give a damn about other people's lives....
It Memorial Day weekend coming up. It's a weekend to honor "all people in uniform" (including our Policemen) not bash them or complain about their salaries. SHAME ON YOU ALL.....whine whine whine
Absolutely not! Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It has absolutely nothing to do with law enforcement people in uniform, fire department people in uniform, or anyone other than those who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. While police may march in parades, Memorial Day does not relate to their service, in any regard. Please do not dilute their memory by attaching unrelated groups to those who have given their lives for us.
Enjoy your weekend, and thank a soldier, or their family.
What on earth led you to believe such an egregious misconception? Memorial Day honors our servicemen and is sacred to the memory of those who are deceased. It has nothing to do with the cops.
Just so we're very clear. Susie, that was a very disrespectful statement. Memorial Day is about the FALLEN - not just anyone wearing a uniform.