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Pinellas DUI Attorney - DUI Checkpoint Video | Holiday Locations - Breaking News
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| Pinellas DUI Attorney |
Pinellas DUI Attorney has just obtained a document announcing the locations of Holiday DUI Checkpoints:
Update December 17, 2011:
25 Arrests / 10 for DUI
Update December 10, 2011:
21 Arrested For DUI So Far
Update December 17, 2011:
25 Arrests / 10 for DUI
Update December 10, 2011:
21 Arrested For DUI So Far
Pinellas Deputies To Conduct Sobriety Checkpoints In Pinellas County As Holidays Approach
Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Special Operations Division
Patrol Deputies (North and South County)
Prisoner Transport Unit
Traffic Crash Investigators
Community Policing Unit
K-9 Unit
Investigative Operations Bureau Narcotics Unit
Remove Intoxicated Drivers (RID)
What: In an effort to reduce DUI related injuries and save lives this Holiday season, Pinellas County deputies will conduct four DUI checkpoints over the next two weekends.
Where: The sobriety checkpoints will be conducted at multiple locations and times as listed below.
When: The sobriety checkpoints will be held at the following locations and times:
View Larger Map
Friday, December 9, 2011 from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Church by the Sea located at 495 137th Avenue Circle in Madeira Beach.
National Aviation Academy located at 6225 Ulmerton Road in Clearwater.
Friday, December 16, 2011 from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Berea Baptist Church located at 370 Alt. 19 in Palm Harbor.
Saturday, December 17, 2011 from 12:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m.
Here is our DUI Checkpoint Video
How/Why: Pinellas County deputies will conduct multiple DUI Checkpoints over the next two weekends. The goal of the sobriety checkpoints is to raise awareness that will help reduce injuries and save lives this holiday season; as well as enforce the Sheriff’s Office zero-tolerance for drinking and driving/drug consumption and driving.
DUI enforcement is designed to keep families safe from one of the greatest threats to our communities – THE IMPAIRED DRIVER. Statistics show that in 2010 there were 1,198 alcohol related crashes in Pinellas County. Those crashes resulted in 699 injuries and 42 fatalities.
At the sobriety checkpoints, about thirty-five to forty Patrol, Prisoner Transport, Community Policing, K-9, and Narcotics deputies will be on the lookout for alcohol and drug impaired drivers. Members of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Crash Investigators Unit and the Explorer Post 900 will also assist with non-enforcement related tasks. Deputies will also be looking for other traffic violations to include driver license, registration, insurance, and equipment violations.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Mobile Command Bus will be used for breath testing and processing of arrested individuals.
Holiday DUI? Call Casey at 813-222-2220
DUI Manual Online
Friend of the site, Darren Finebloom, and his firm have posted an interesting new book on Florida DUI cases. It is our understanding his partner David Haenel has just published a new book too.
Nice work.
DUI Manual Online
DUI Arrest Contest Rules and Prizes
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| DUI Arrest Contest Rules and Prizes |
DUI Attorney on Florida's West Coast just uncovered the "rules" for a recent DUI Arrest Contest. The awards are characterized as DUI enforcement equipment, some of it valued at thousands of dollars. As a Criminal Defense Attorney, I am not aware of a single other crime where rewards are given based on arrests. The stakes are high for the contestants as one prize is, "one fully equipped vehicle" Just in case the Florida DUI cops are embarrassed by our uncovering this scam buried deep in their website and decide to take it offline, we have placed a Copy of the DUI Arrest Contest Rules here.
The Rule book opens like this:
"The Florida DUI Sustained Enforcement Program supports this goal by rewarding agencies for conducting high visibility DUI enforcement operations. The FDOT Safety Office has established an incentive program with four levels of participation. Each law enforcement agency can select the level of participation that fits its manpower availability. The Law Enforcement Liaison Program will collect monthly reports filed by the participating agencies, determine what participation level each agency has met at the end of the calendar year, and provide access to an online equipment catalog. Agencies can select DUI enforcement equipment based on the participation points that they have earned directly from the online catalog."
Scoring System:
Conduct/Host DUI checkpoint: 100 points
Saturation Patrol: 20 points
Attend Checkpoint hosted by other agency: 10 points
Platinum 6000 DUI Enforcement Activity Points Earned
Gold 4000 DUI Enforcement Activity Points Earned
Silver 2000 DUI Enforcement Activity Points Earned
Bronze 1000 DUI Enforcement Activity Points Earned"
The "points" actually have a cash value that our investigation uncovered:
Platinum Level Award $15,000
Gold Level Award $10,000
Silver Level Award $5,000
Bronze Level Award $2,500
They even have a lottery type "drawing" for other prizes:
In addition to the regular program rewards, all agencies that qualify at the Bronze or Silver levels will be eligible for a random drawing for a laser speed measuring device. All agencies that qualify at the Platinum or Gold levels will be eligible for a random drawing for one fully equipped vehicle to be used exclusively for DUI enforcement by the winning agency.
Caught Up in Their Game? Call Casey at 813-222-2220
Source: http://www2.dot.state.fl.us/duisustainedenforcementinitiative/Utilities/Help/Help.aspx
Florida DUI Arrest Contest Rules and Prizes
DUI Defense Attorney | Citizen's Arrest
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| DUI Arrest |
DUI Attorney Lawyer just reviewed an interesting case of DUI / Citizen's Arrest where there had been an arrest by a lady who saw bad driving / parking by a driver who smelled of alcohol. Here is a summary of that Florida DUI Driving Under the Influence case.
Driver "drove up to where [citizen] was sitting, drove onto the sidewalk and parked her car. The [driver] sat in her car for a minute, then stumbled out of the vehicle and began crying. [The citizen] approached her and asked if she was okay. [The driver] looked at [The citizen]'s son, looked at [The citizen] and then looked at her son again. [The citizen] asked the [The driver] what was wrong and the [The driver] responded that she was looking for her son. [The citizen] asked [The driver] where her son was and the [The driver] pointed at [The citizen]'s son. [The driver] smelled of alcohol."
The citizen took the car keys and effectively prevented the driver from continuing on her way. She called the cops and they arrived on the scene and arrested the driver for DUI Driving under the Influence. The driver blew over a .08 The issue before the court - can a citizen arrest a driver for DUI? This is known as a citizen's arrest.
The appeals court reasoned in the case Excerpts below:
"The Supreme Court adheres to the view that a person is “seized” only when, “by means of physical force or a show of authority, his freedom of movement is restrained.” U.S. v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 553, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 64 L.Ed.2d 497 (1980). In other words, a person is “seized” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment “only if, in view of all the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave,” even if the person did not attempt to leave. Id.; see also Hill v. State, 39 So. 3d 437, 439-440 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010) [35 Fla. L. Weekly D1455c]. Applying the reasonable person standard to determine whether a seizure has occurred is a fact-intensive analysis in which the reviewing court must consider the totality of the circumstances. Golphin v. State, 945 So.2d 1174, 1184 (Fla. 2006) [31 Fla. L. Weekly S845a]."
"In Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 494-495, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 75 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983), a plurality of the United States Supreme Court held that when the officers identified themselves as narcotics agents, told Royer that he was suspected of transporting narcotics, and asked him to accompany them to the police room, while retaining his ticket and driver's license and without indicating in any way that he was free to depart, Royer was effectively seized for the purposes of the Fourth Amendment. Citing to cases such as Royer and Mendenhall, the Florida Supreme Court has also found that “the retention of identification during the course of further interrogation or search certainly factors into whether a seizure has occurred.” Golphin, 945 So. 2d at 1185."
The appeals court reviewed a Hillsborough County Florida DUI case and stated:
"Appellant cites to Boermeester v. State, 15 Fla. Law Weekly Supp. 576a (Fla. 13th Cir. Ct. 2008), in support of her case. In Boermeester, the defendant approached the gate at MacDill Air Force Base and was stopped by Technical Sergeant Jorde Rosario whose duties that morning included ensuring that only authorized personnel be permitted to enter the base. Boermeester, 15 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 576a. Believing that Boermeester might be impaired, Tech. Sgt. Rosario ordered him to exit his vehicle, to surrender his keys and then contacted the Tampa Police Department. Id. Boermeester was subsequently charged with DUI and filed a motion to suppress which was denied by the trial court. Id. Boermeester then appealed the denial of the motion to suppress. Id."
"On appeal, the Boermeester court stated that the trial court did not indicate the basis for its finding that there was not a citizen's arrest. Id. The trial court did not file a written order, nor did it state the grounds for its decision at the moment it denied the motion. Id. The trial court simply stated there was not a citizens' arrest and denied the motion to suppress. Id."
"The Circuit Court in Hillsborough opined, “[i]t is therefore with some difficulty that this Court reviews the trial court's determination” and then proceeded to reverse the county court's denial of the motion to suppress. Id. Based on the fact that the military guard had testified that he confiscated Boermeester's keys for the man's safety and that Boermeester was free to leave at any time, the court held that a citizen's arrest did not take place. Id. The Boermeester court focused on the intent of Tech. Sgt. Rosario in depriving Boermeester of his right to leave. Id."
The court ruled:
" The critical point is that based on the totality of the circumstances, a reasonable person in the Appellant's position, having had her vehicle moved while she sat in the passenger seat and then deprived of her keys, would not have felt free to leave the scene at that time."
"The trial court correctly found that the Appellant's conduct, which occurred in front of the civilian witness, constituted a breach of the peace. See Edwards v. State,462 So. 2d 581 (4th DCA 1985). This private citizen took the type of action the law would encourage a private citizen to take in order to prevent an obviously intoxicated individual from continuing to drive on our streets. See Id. The civilian witness' actions in lawfully detaining the Appellant until police arrived constituted a proper citizen's arrest."
Source FLW Supp 1902 ESTR
Source FLW Supp 1902 ESTR
A citizen's arrest is sometimes proper and can result in a DUI traffic stop being upheld by Florida DUI courts.
DUI Traffic Stop in Question?
Call The Law Office of W.F. "Casey" Ebsary, Jr. at 813-222-2220
Law Office of W.F. ''Casey'' Ebsary, Jr.
1101 Channelside Drive, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 222-2220 (877) 793-9290
Our Tampa DUI Defense Law Office in Florida recently redesigned our Google Places / Google Maps pages. We have added Photos and videos. You can visit our Google Places site here.
Law Office of W.F. ''Casey'' Ebsary, Jr.
1101 Channelside Drive, Tampa, FL 33602
DUI Video | Pasco Florida Highway Patrol Arrest Contest
Trooper Ron Evans and his colleague "fellow Trooper Richard Arias focus a lot of attention of U.S. 19" so says Fox News in Tampa, Florida. "Evans has developed a well-known reputation for getting suspected drunk drivers off the streets. Last year, he made 238 arrests; back in 2004, he arrested 300." says Fox News. Arias became a Trooper less than a year ago says capitalsoup.com.
The video is below.
According to the State of Florida, "The Florida Highway Patrol recently awarded Trooper Ronald J. Evans Jr. the Hurd-Smith award for 2008. The award recognizes the trooper who leads FHP in Driving Under the Influence arrests for the year. Evans, stationed in Land O’Lakes, made 187 DUI arrests last year. This was not the first time the Patrol recognized him for his extraordinary DUI enforcement efforts. In 2004, he garnered the Hurd-Smith award after making 300 DUI arrests."
Sources: http://capitalsoup.com/2011/05/19/florida-highway-patrol-graduates-39-new-troopers-today/
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/nature_coast/trooper-sets-records-for-dui-arrests-11242011
http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/PhotoGallery/2009/PG042409.htm
We have written about these DUI arrest "contests" before:
Have you become a Pawn? Call 813-222-2220
http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/PhotoGallery/2009/PG042409.htm
We have written about these DUI arrest "contests" before:
Aug 08, 2011
Tampa DUI - Former DUI prosecutor. Represents clients in Florida, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, and Polk. Board Certified in Criminal Trial Law. AV Rated by Lawyers.com . This is the highest rating. Licensed in Florida, Middle ...
Apr 21, 2011
DUI Defense Attorney notes that Pasco DUI cops are continuing their efforts to win DUI arrest contests. Florida Highway Patrol spokesman for the highway patrol's Tampa Bay area troop says, “Pasco County does not necessarily have a higher ...
Oct 24, 2008
Tampa DUI - Former DUI prosecutor. Represents clients in Florida, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, and Polk. Board Certified in Criminal Trial Law. AV Rated by Lawyers.com . This is the highest rating. Licensed in Florida, Middle ...
Jun 19, 2009
There were 13 contest winners at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HSCO) . There were 16 contest winners at the Tampa Police Department (TPD) . These were just the officers who got over a hundred in the year. There are others with ...
Have you become a Pawn? Call 813-222-2220
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