DUI dragnet drops hammer on Bonney Lake Friday night
Published 3:48 pm Thursday, April 30, 2009
By Dennis Box, The Courier Herald
The lights flash red and blue flooding the rear of the car Bonney Lake officer Vince Sainati is pursuing. He pulls the squad car up tight behind the pickup as it pulls into the Wal-Mart parking lot. Sainati tilts his spotlight into the rear window.
"Frank 22 stopping… license number…." Sainati reads the vehicle's license number into his radio as he watches the driver and waits for dispatch to respond.
Friday night was Bonney Lake's turn for the Tacoma/Pierce County Driving Under the Influence Emphasis Patrol.
The Bonney Lake Police Department was joined by more than 30 officers from surrounding Pierce County police agencies participating in the dragnet.
The emphasis patrol is a monthly program that highlights an area where officers spend the night snagging alcohol- or drug-impaired drivers, handing out educational information to those who are stopped and given a warning.
University Place and Fircrest participated in the last patrol Jan. 16. That night, 12 drunk drivers were nabbed.
Friday's program lasted from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday. Besides the vehicle patrol officers, four liquor control board officers joined the task force for age compliance checks in bars and stores.
Sainati's shift began just after 8 p.m. and in less than 40 minutes he stopped three drivers. The first for illegal lane travel, the result of too much yakking on cell phone. The driver got off with a warning and an informational brochure.
The second stop came when a driver pulled an illegal left turn with Sainati right behind him. The driver said he was hungry for a taco. He also didn't have a license or proof of insurance. Ticket.
The third stop was a group of teenagers stuffed into a car speeding on the Sumner-Buckley Highway. The driver, a 16-year-old girl, had an intermediate license; she was not to be driving with a gaggle of teenagers. Another ticket.
The good news, according to Sainati, was none of the three had been drinking.
"What would be great, what I'm hoping, is to not get any drunk drivers tonight," Sainati said. "Nothing would make me happier about what we're doing tonight. That would mean we got our message out. There's 30 cops up here stopping people. If you're drinking, don't drive."
The 16-year veteran officer started his career in the Buckley Police Department after graduating from Enumclaw High School. He has been with the Bonney Lake Police Department 12 years and is currently its traffic officer.
When Sainati stops a car his years of experience become clear. He calls in his location, the vehicle license number and pops the searchlight up so it shines in the back window. Even the most routine stops can be dangerous, and his best defense is his own awareness.
The fifth stop of the night was a man driving a small pickup speeding eastbound on the Sumner-Buckley Highway. From the rear Sainati could see the driver was a big guy, and he was reaching under his seat.
Sainati approached the car with flashlight handy, hand on his holster, weapon ready. The guy was looking for his license - this time - and he was sober.
"Just being careful," Sainati said matter-of-factly. "Just careful."
In less than four hours of work, Sainati stopped 11 drivers and wrote nine tickets and three warnings. All of his drivers were sober. He knows he beat the odds and on another night that will not be the case.
Statistic for Bonney Lake show one stop in every 10 the driver will be drunk.
By midnight the task force had two DUIs in custody and had made numerous contacts with people. Each officer hoping to make a dent in the culture of drunken driving.
Friday's emphasis patrol was dedicated to Clayton Hosler, who was killed in Tacoma by a drunk driver in 1988. Hosler was taking a neighbor for a ride on his motorcycle when a drink driver ran a stop sign and hit him. Holster died less than a month later from his injuries.
Other departments that participated in the emphasis patrol at Bonney Lake were Fife, Lakewood, Milton, Puyallup, Roy, Ruston, Sumner, Tacoma and University Place.
Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald.
