Cops in Miramar Beach? WCSO operations & DUI discussion

[John R]

How anyone can question the validity of a DUI arrest is beyond me. If someone is impaired, they should not be behind the wheel, period. No one wants to be on the receiving end of an encounter with a drunk driver. Two drinks may be fine for some, and may put others over the legal BA limit. The LEO isn't pulling people over who show no signs of erratic driving. Those who get pulled over, get pulled over for a reason. Too many leave the bars and get behind the wheel who shouldn't.

I would hazard a guess that the majority who are reading this post have gotten behind the wheel at least once when they shouldn't have. Imagine if you had killed someone.

 

[emeraldcoastdav]

I not defending Dui as much as stating reality. If every drinker that was driving were arrested through the summer here, we would need to build jails stadium sized. And we all witness this all the time. My concern is through the winter the population drops to maybe 5%.
Does the police force? And I am asking about road enforcement not crime detectives. It does not seem so. And then my sympathy goes to individuals who pay as much as a third of their anual income in lawyers an court costs and fines after being arrested. In some cases while sleeping it off in their car.
We all know this is a party location. I feel concessions could be made. I see police calling for taxis often. Is this not also a good way to keep drinking drivers off the road.

 

[emeraldcoastdav]

Kurt, I love ya but I didn't loose because I did not change my mind.

 

[Mango]

I serve a few of these night life people each year. I see the balance walk out of each of the clubs, bars, and resturaunts and jump in their cars. My issue is the disproportionate amount of DUIs or who they affect, summer and winter. Tell me your qualification to speak before you do.

I wonder how many bars are on 30a. I wonder how many of the 6,000,000 people that come here a year had two drinks in less then an hour before they drove home. Get off your high horse.

I am a property owner who was checking to see if her guests arrived safely a few years ago. They didn't. Their son and daughter held them in their arms while they took their last breathes, all due to a drunk driver.

I hate to be morose, but if it saves one life by someone not getting in their car and just calling Paradise Taxi, it was worth reliving. It only takes one of those 6,000,000 to dramatically impact other people's lives.

 

[emeraldcoastdav]

John R, they do pull people over when they are not driving erratic. They call it a tail light out, or no seat belt, or sleeping in the car, or symply, "what are you doing". They watch and investigate who comes into the Tomb Thumb at night. DUI does not come from someone clearly driving in the wrong lane alone.

 

[emeraldcoastdav]

Mango, I don't know how to "quote" from my iPhone.
My heart goes out to that family. I remember.

 

[John R]

Dave, it's my interpretation that you've been skirting the line between what you term 'drinker' and a drunk driver. To clear things up a bit, can you answer the following question so I've got it straight? Do you think it's acceptable for someone who has .08% BAC to be on the road?

I don't. And anyone who is arrested for DUI should pay the price. Alcohol awareness is all around us. Having a DD or calling a taxi/shuttle are not new concepts. I know specific people who drive home drunk nightly. They, and their potential victim(s) have been lucky so far. It's just a matter of time.

http://www.floridaduilawyerblog.com/before_you_get_in_the_car/

 

[John R]

Dave, even drunks should have all their lights functioning, and their seat belts on...

And we all know, if you're sleeping in the car with the keys in the ignition, you're fair game.

I am not making these posts without any justification. I was one of the people we're talking about here. Thankfully, I didn't kill anyone, and had an officer follow me home once to make sure. I have also been arrested for driving while impaired.

 

[scooterbug44]

Night Angel and SB44, if it were your car - be it a 10 year old Toyota or a brand new Range Rover, I'm sure you'd appreciate the attention of the Sheriff's Office in tracking down the do-er's. It is such a pain to deal with the insurance company after you've been broken into, or had your car stolen.

Yes, resources are being used...but in the absence of the great bank robbery, murder, or mayhem, they're trying to do their job to protect the public from crime in progress. If something bigger were to present itself, I'm sure the resources would be diverted to that. In the meantime, let's be thankful that they're on the job and trying to catch the folks that are preying on the folks just trying to live their lives and hold on to what they've worked for.

Yeah - later I realized that there are much worse things than a sheriff doing all they can to catch lawbreakers.

And IMO people who drive drunk certainly fit that description - whether they are locals or tourists. Based on what I see on a regular basis, they don't need to invent excuses to pull over people close to the legal limit - it's shooting drunk fish in a barrel as many fish can't even keep the vehicle on the road.

 

[Kurt]

An alert homeowner on Garden Bay Circle in Miramar Beach observed a person attempting to break into vehicles around three o’clock this morning. The homeowner contacted the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, and responding Sheriff’s Deputies quickly set up a perimeter of the area. A Deputy arrested Payton Fitzgerald after he climbed over the privacy fence on Walton Way. The 19-year-old faces a charge of loitering or prowling.

A few hours later Sheriff’s Deputies arrested an accomplice. Twenty-two-year-old Dane Patrick Hanlon Kemper was driving a BMW 528I automobile when he was stopped at the intersection of Shore Drive and Hidden lakes Drive. Walton County Sheriff’s Investigators found tools inside the car, which are commonly used in vehicle break-ins’. Kemper was transported to the Walton County Jail and faces driving with a suspended license first offense.

Over the next several hours, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office assisted by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputies and the Walton Correctional Institution K-9 tracking team searched for a third suspect.

However, it was later determined that Fitzgerald and Kemper were the only two suspects involved. The Sheriff’s Office has investigated a rash of vehicle, residential, and commercial break-ins’ across South Walton County over recent weeks. Deputies and Investigators are keeping a close eye on any reports of suspicious activity near residential and business areas. It’s hoped this morning’s manhunt might bring information to the burglaries’.

Walton County Undersheriff Bill Chapman says, “The Walton County Sheriff’s Office will continue to use all resources available to solve property related crimes of those looking to take advantage of honest hardworking citizens in our communities’ ”.