The Huntington Beach area statistically showed that in 2008 they had the third most cases for arresting DUI offenders. Over the past three years, the Huntington Beach Police Department has made over 1,700 DUI arrests each year.

The 16-page report lays out a plan to introduce a new specialized DUI officer to their team, sending letters of notification to restaurants that they feel are enabling drunk drivers and posting the names of DUI offenders onto their website.

LT. Russell Reinhart, and police spokesman for Huntington Beach, said that their DUI program is the most aggressive in the county. However, police still think they need more help.

Presently, Huntington Beach officers four to eight DUI checkpoints each year, as well as they have a DUI task team. They use helicopters in obtaining DUI drivers, and on Friday and Saturday evenings, they add extra policemen for patrolling. They’ve also received $1.4 million in grant money to be able to add more police officers to their patrolling.

The idea of posting DUI offenders names online has stirred up controversy. Barry Simmons, a DUI defense attorney, stated, “This has been a concept that has been floated around for years. Humiliate them, single them out. It is the Scarlet Letter approach and there is absolutely no empirical data that things like that will do anything to affect recidivism. It could have a damaging affect on an individual’s reputation.”

However, Reinhart believes that with arrest records being public information that police are expecting that the public will become involved by keeping an eye out for DUI drivers. Reinhart stated, “We get tips on a regular basis and we are hoping to get more of them.”

Joe Carchio, a councilman for the city of Huntington, says he is all for it [the posting of names] further stating that it might be a deterrent for people who drink and drive.

The police department also wants to send out letters to restaurants they believe are aiding in the area of drunk driving. The main two restaurants are Sharkeez and Hurricanes. The police want the staff of these two restaurants to keep a closer eye on customers and monitor their drinking habits.

The police officers of Huntington Beach want more than just sober driving; they want to see life changes being made.

Officials state this new fine will help the city recover thousands in administrative costs. According to a Police report, the court will impose the fine as part of the civil judgement, and as a condition of their probation. The city reports that the money can help with purchasing fingerprint equipment, storage, photographs and other administrative costs.

Glendale has been charging this fee to those convicted of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) since 1997 and has collected about $31,000 in fees. With the expanded fee, the city could re-claim as much as $157,000 per year if just 15% of those arrested pay the fee.

Sounds reasonable: “You play, you pay.“

According to a news release by the Folsom Police Department, this arrest was Palodino’s fourth for DUI, and his sixth arrest for alcohol-related offenses in the last three years. .35 is surgical anesthesia! .30 he should be passed out. No wonder he ignored lights and sirens before pulling into his garage. Can you say, “Lucky to be alive?”

A woman reported that a man tried to deliver groceries to her home that appeared to be drunk.  Paladino was suppose to be delivering groceries to his ex-wife and ended up going to the wrong house.  The woman reported the incident to police dispatchers and told them he appeared to be extremely tipsy.  She also gave police a license plate number and the type of vehicle he was driving. (Thank you, maam!)

But for all their prowess, fame and fortune, more and more sports celebrities are catching more and more of those name and game stealing DUI’s. That’s right. Arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol.  Is it the stress or strain of being under the public eye? Is it the constant pressure to perform? Let’s take a closer look at a few recent sport celebrity DUI arrests.

First up, basketball phenom and six-year NBA veteran, Al Jefferson of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He issued a statement of apology on Sunday after his DUI arrest. He was taken to the Hennepin County jail on the charge and later released.  This deed caught him a two-game suspension which equates to approximately $292,682 of the $12 million he makes in one season. He’ll also have to be in court on April 23rd. But the money wasn’t the first thing on his mind. He later stated, “I want to apologize to the entire Timberwolves organization… and Wolves fans everywhere for my actions.” 

Next up to the plate, David Freese of The St. Louis Cardinals. He was arrested in December on a DUI charge in St. Louis with a blood-alcohol level of 0.13. This level is nearly 3 times the legal limit of 0.08 in Missouri. Team officials are pleased with the way he handled the arrest, however. General manager, John Mozeliak stated, “I made sure he understood dealing with the alcohol problem and dealing with the legal side was more important than baseball.” Freese was entered into the team employee assistance program. He  later told fans and officials, “It was poor judgement on my part… But God puts things in front of you for a reason. I’ve definitely learned from it…”

Bases are loaded, let’s round things out with Oakland A’s right hand pitcher, Clayton Mortenson. He was arrested the morning of Oct. 4th for suspicion of DUI.  He had just joined the A’s rotation in September. Ready and eager to restore his squeaky clean image at the final A’s season game, he got in front of the press to issue what was reportedly an emotional apology. He said he couldn’t wait to report to camp this spring. Mortenson’s manager, Bob Geren said, “He made a mistake.”  Geren stated he considers what happened, (the DUI), in the past and that it wouldn’t factor into how the player was evaluated. Mortenson stated, “It’s a fresh start… Last year was not a great way to end.”

So what is it? Can we really say why these sports stars have ended up behind bars for DUI? In economic times like these, some folks question that when someone has so much money and fame, why would they want to throw it all away? In the post Tiger example of lost endorsements that were perhaps worth millions and millions, the answer (or excuse) may always turn out to be the same – ”Because we’re only human after all.”

This year, the California Highway Patrol was especially busy on LA’s freeways, having made 236 DUI arrests as compared to the 158 they made last year between 6:01 p.m. Christmas Eve and 6 a.m. Sunday. Miraculously, no fatalities were reported (four occurred during the 2008 holiday week).

Meanwhile, in other Southern California counties, “business” continued to be equally brisk.  The Orange County CHP made 22 DUI arrests — the same as last year, but no fatalities were reported. In San Diego, the CHP reported 38 DUI arrests and 2 fatalities, as compared to 27 arrests last year.

In the entire state, 16 people have died in alcohol related traffic accidents, matching exactly the number of fatalities reported in 2008. Law enforcement officials will be conducting more anti-DUI round ups in nearly every city in Los Angeles County around the New Year’s holiday, through to Jan. 3, 2010.

AVOID, which studies DUI numbers, would like to remind drivers that the year-end holiday period is one of the deadliest times to be out on the road.  They encourage the public to report any drunk drivers they see by calling 911.

The AVOID campaign is funded by a California Office of Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grant.

Police reported having “detected signs and symptons” of her being under the influence. She was given a breathalyzer test and charged with a misdemeanor DUI at the LAPD Hollywood Station. Ms. Kerry, an indpendant filmmaker is known for her documentaries and short films.

She was released after posting a $5,000 bail. Her court date is set for Dec. 10th in a Los Angeles Court.

Sen. John Kerry stands by his daughter. His spokesperson stated, “Alexandra Kerry was pulled over for an expired registration and was released after the results of a breathalyzer test at the police station were under the legal limit. Senator Kerry supports his daughter and will have no further comment on a private matter.“

Beverly Hills Judge, Marsha Revel ordered Ms. Lohan to appear in Court because someone spilled the beans, telling the judge Lindsay had been missing her meetings.  According to her attorney, Lindsay has attended approximately 1/2  of the mandated sessions, but that her blooming career has kept her from attending the full schedule of compulsory alcohol rehab.

The judge stated Lindsay should not ”thumb your nose at the court… This is the last time we are going to be talking about re-enrolling and doing what you need to do… This has to be top priority… Would love to congratulate you rather than admonish you.”

Lindsay still has a busy work schedule. She will attend a charity event in New York soon.  However,  the judge cautioned her against traveling beyond 21 days which would cause her to miss  any of her meetings. Stating, “anytime you request a leave of absence for more than 21 days, you must get court approval… if you don’t do that, the deputy district attorney will be asking for jail time.”

In the coming months, it will be interesting to see how Lindsay plays her role… in real life.

However, in an attempt to uncover what some are saying was a media leak from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, authorities have discovered two calls were made to Harvey Levin of TMZ the exact day of Gibson’s arrest. 

One of the arresting Sheriff Deputies, James Mee stated he did nothing wrong and declined to comment any further. But phone records from his home indicate otherwise. It was found that two phone calls were made to TMZ the same day. Upon further investigation it was found there were 8 phone calls from made Levin to Deputy Mee’s home two days after the arrest of Gibson.

Los Angeles prosecutors declined to file any criminal charges against Mee, saying they could not conclude or identify who made the calls or who leaked certain parts about Mel Gibson’s arrest.

Later, TMZ posted excerpts from Mee’s original report on its website, giving details of Gibson’s tirade, outbursts and threats.

A probe was launched and search warrant’s were served by the Sheriff’s Department, however, no evidence was found to be incriminating enough to prove any payments were made to Sheriff Mee. Further, none of his home equipment, e.g., fax or email was used to deliver the original arrest report.

While the Mel Gibson media leak mystery continues, bail bondsmen have believed for years that insiders in the Los Angeles jail system have leaked, sold or otherwise tipped off unethical bondsmen about arrests and inmate information for higher bail amounts. We hope that the City Attorney, District Attorney and Federal Officials might be as diligent for a lesser known, but potentially more egregious abuse of power.

Seems the couple have had previous run-ins with the law having been charged with DUIs, so why have to suffer through another one?

Sergeant, Rob Schneider of the San Anselmo Police Department in Marin County say the incident happened on Sunday night after the three had a nice dinner together.

But fate will always have its way of teaching people a lesson.

Investigating officers noticed a stalled vehicle on the roadway. In the car, the underage driver was discovered, staring blankly like a baby fawn into the oncoming headlights.

Although the child driver had made it part of the way, he became what officer Schneider described as, “too freaked out” to go any further.  The boy, claiming he just couldn’t go on, stopped the vehicle smack dab in the middle of a major thoroughfare.

Heather Choulos, a resident of Mill Valley was charged with child endangerment and the delinquency of a minor. Although the charges are misdemeanors, her bail was set at $50,000.  The 13-year old was realeased to what we all hope is a “responsible” member of the family.

Photocredit © Irina Fischer – Fotolia.com