CPD holds sobriety checkpoint downtown
Seven arrests were made during the stops.
Published Sept. 1, 2009
The Columbia Police Department held a sobriety checkpoint from 11 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday, stopping 698 cars, a CPD news release stated.
The checkpoint was in the 1200 block of Grindstone Parkway and was part of the statewide "You Drink & Drive, You Lose" enforcement campaign that began Aug. 19. The MU Police Department held a similar checkpoint last weekend.
"I think it went very well," CPD spokeswoman Jessie Haden said. "We were able to conduct it safely."
Of the 698 cars, seven arrests were made for driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated, a small number in comparison to the amount stopped, Haden said.
A number of people stopped were intoxicated but not over the limit. Haden said these people were not arrested, but they were not allowed to leave the scene and were able to get safe rides home.
Other arrests at the checkpoint included citations for driving with suspended or revoked licenses, citations of driving without a valid license, hazardous moving violations and misdemeanors of possession of a controlled substance.
The release also stated 70 drivers failed to produce proof of insurance.
Haden said the police department wanted to send a message to citizens that regardless of the level of intoxication, underage people are not allowed to have alcohol.
Only once during the checkpoint did traffic become so clogged they had to shut it down to let cars through. "It went on without a hitch," Haden said.
The funding for officers was received by grants obtained by the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety and the Missouri Department of Highway Safety, the release stated.
