Recent honors bestowed upon Florida Highway Patrol troopers who make an insane number of DUI arrests (more than 1 per shift on average), brings us to the issue of probable cause in Fort Lauderdale drunk driving cases.
Fort Lauderdale DUI defense lawyers understand the many ways a motorist's rights are violated when it comes to probable cause. Police may choose to stop older vehicles, a motorist who is leaving a bar parking lot, or a commercial work truck still out after dark (the theory is they stopped at happy hour and stayed late). Half the DUI police reports in the nation cite "failure to stay within marked lanes" as the reason for the stop and the other half (or so it often seems) cite "weaving."
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles honored one of its own with the Hurd-Smith award last month. The trooper made 238 DUI arrests in the Land O'Lakes area. A trooper who works 5 shifts a week, 50 weeks a year, with no down days for training or other detail, works 250 shifts a year.
The award goes to the trooper who makes the most stops in a year. The award is named for Trooper Kimberly Hurd, who was killed in Fort Lauderdale by a passing truck in 1992. Trooper Robbie Smith was hit and killed while conducting a traffic stop in Miami.
"Trooper Evans did an outstanding job protecting motorists in Florida from drunk drivers," said Colonel David Brierton, director of the Florida Highway Patrol. "Removing impaired drivers from our roadways will continue to be a priority for our Department, and we are proud to honor him with this well deserved award."
The press release goes on to recognize a number of other troopers who made at least 100 DUI arrests last year.
But the Land O'Lakes Patch has the rest of the story. The same trooper who won the top award this year, won the award in 2004 with 300 DUI arrests and in 2009 with 187 arrests. Troopers from Land O'Lakes also won the top award in two other recent years.
It would appear either everyone is drunk in Land O'Lakes or competition among officers should have defense lawyers looking hard at probable cause for traffic stops. In 2009, there were 942 DUI arrests by state troopers in Pasco County, compared to 294 in Hillsborough.
Fort Lauderdale DUI Attorney Carlos Canet is an aggressive and experienced drunk driving defense attorney, representing clients facing DUI charges in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and West Palm Beach. Call 866-7ASKDUI to discuss your rights.
