n By Marilyn Dubil Staff Writer
Morgan Hill – DUI arrests in Santa Clara County were down during the Labor Day weekend, according to law enforcement officials.
There were seven arrests in Morgan Hill over the holiday, according to Morgan Hill police Sgt. David Swing, one on Friday, four on Saturday and two on Sunday, but none on Monday.
Countywide, there were 95 arrests, down from 116 last year, and no fatalities.
“It is certainly our hope that more people are getting the message and not driving drunk,” said Jan Ford, public information officer for the “Avoid the 13” campaign. “Though we may have been helped by higher gas prices.”
The campaign’s crackdown period began at 12:01am Friday and ended Monday night at midnight, Ford said.
Avoid the 13 is sponsored by the Santa Clara County Police Chiefs Association and funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.
The Hollister-Gilroy area California Highway Patrol reported one fatality over the long weekend, but the accident occurred in San Benito County, not Santa Clara County. Although CHP handled more collisions during the period this year compared to last, arrest for DUI and DUI collisions were down.
Last year, the CHP handled 19 collisions compared to 29 this year, according to CHP Officer Chris Armstrong. Officers made 17 DUI arrests in 2005, and 14 this year; last year, three collisions involved driving under the influence, while this year, four collisions were considered DUI-related.
MHPD prepared for the Labor Day weekend with extra officers on patrol looking for impaired drivers, Swing said.
But though there were no major police-related incidents during the unofficial summer send-off, officers also responded to a large number of calls and handled a variety of incidents.
Swing said officers handled a touchy situation with a suicidal resident of a care facility at Del Monte Avenue and First Street. He was despondent, Swing said, and playing with a knife while talking to officers. The officers were concerned, he said, about what the depressed patient meant to do, but talked him into putting the knife down. He was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
On Friday night, at approximately 10:20pm, officers arrested a 68-year-old Morgan Hill man for alleged domestic violence.
