Fresh on the heels of the arrest of 20 people at a sobriety checkpoint in Lowell last weekend, state and local officers are prepared to take more drunken drivers off the street during the three-day holiday weekend.
"Be assured that if you drink and you drive this weekend, we will be out in force looking for you," said state police spokesman Dave Procopio.
Last Friday night, state police arrested 15 suspected drunken drivers at a sobriety checkpoint on Thorndike Street in Lowell, while five more people were arrested by area "saturation patrols" connected to the checkpoint. Additionally, troopers assigned to the operation made eight arrests on other charges and issued 97 citations for traffic violations, state police said.
State police will put up a sobriety checkpoint on a secondary state highway somewhere in Essex County on Saturday night into Sunday morning. While troopers issue press releases to notify the public about upcoming checkpoints, they don't say exactly where they will be.
Troop A of the state police, which covers this area, will have 39 extra troopers working four-hour patrols to catch impaired drivers today through Monday. Fifteen of those troopers will be connected to Saturday's checkpoint, Procopio said.
Troopers will stop drivers at the checkpoint to see if they're intoxicated. Checkpoints usually last from about 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., and troopers conduct saturation patrols three hours prior to the checkpoint, Procopio said.
As of Tuesday, Troop A had made 862 arrests for operating under the influence this year — the highest of any troop in the state. To date this year, state police have done 63 checkpoints and/or saturation patrols statewide that have led to 462 arrests for operating under the influence, Procopio said.
The state is in the midst of its Labor Day 2010 "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest" mobilization. The mobilization is funded through the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security with federal grants. The mobilization began August 20 and ends Monday.
North Andover has received $18,000 in grant money for extra officers to patrol the streets this weekend, and for plainclothes officers to visit establishments that sell alcohol. The officers will watch for over serving and serving to minors, said North Andover police Lt. Paul Gallagher.
Police also have to be ready for Hurricane Earl as it rumbles up the East Coast.
"We are making sure the shifts have the manpower necessary to handle the added responsibilities the long weekend brings," said Methuen police Chief Katherine Lavigne, whose department also received grant money for drunken-driving patrols. "More important for this weekend is preparation for the possibility of Hurricane Earl hitting the area. Once again this means shift manpower must be adequate, officers prepared for foul weather, as well as coordination with other organizations."
