LEOs to increase presence during holiday weekend

TORRINGTON – The Torrington Police Department, Goshen County Sheriff’s Office, Wyoming Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies statewide will be out in force this weekend to curb drunk driving on Wyoming’s roads and highways.
The TPD will be increasing its presence on the roads for an Impaired Driving Enforcement Operation. According to TPD Chief Matt Johnson, the goal is ensuring a celebratory occasion doesn’t become a sad one.
“Anytime we have a significant holiday weekend like that, you know there’s certainly more of a propensity for those types of things to happen,” he said. “And oftentimes, that transitions from a time when we should be celebrating together as families and as communities, and as a country, into a time of a lot of sadness. That’s really what we want to avoid. You know, this has already been a challenging time for our community and our state and our country, and you know folks are going to need to celebrate and we want them to celebrate and we want them to celebrate responsibly, so that we can keep it a time of celebration, as opposed to having tragedies that take people away from our community.”
According to data from the National Highway Safety Administration, drunk driving accounted for 10,500 deaths in 2018 – that’s 29% of all motor vehicle deaths. That trend tends to spike around July 4 – 193 died in drunk driving crashes during the July 4 weekend in 2018.

The TPD is planning to have at least two additional cars on patrol. The operation is funded by the Highway Safety Grant and the Underage Drinking Enforcement Grant, and it will allow officers and deputies to earn some overtime, along with keeping the roads safe.  
“We’re using those allocations over this Fourth of July weekend to try to get as many police officers as we can out over this weekend when we know there will be extra safety risks,” Johnson said.
“We’re looking to have at least two additional officers out on the roads, during the evening hours, so we can be proactive about keeping people safe.”
While alcohol can play a part in an enjoyable social experience, Johnson said it’s important to plan ahead. He said it’s important to make plans to get home before the shenanigans begin, and to designate a driver well ahead of time.
“I think the most important thing is to start with a realistic expectation of what your night is going to look like,” he said. “If you wait to plan for that until you’re kind of already in a jam, it’s tougher to fix.
“How many folks do you and I know that say ‘hey, I’m going to go to the bar and I’m only going to have one beer?’ We would prefer that they didn’t try to drive, even with one beer, and we would prefer that they were planning ahead so that they knew they would have a ride home. If you wait until 2 a.m. to try to put something together, it’s a lot harder to get that done. So, we would encourage folks to pre-plan and set aside some designated drivers, not just somebody that’s going to drink less than you, but somebody that’s not going to drink anything.”
Johnson said pre-planning is the optimal way to handle a night out, but if all else fails, to call the TPD for assistance.
“We would certainly encourage calling family and friends who could safely work with you,” Johnson said. “And then finally, if all else fails, call us. If we get a call from you, we’ll help troubleshoot on how we can get you home.”