The work of five Morgan Hill Police officers in keeping drunk
drivers off the road during the holiday period at the end of 2003
and the beginning of 2004 was recognized last week. Cpl. Jerry
Neumayer, Officer Gary Smith, Officer Scott Silva, Officer Steven
Penington and Det. Shane Palsgrove received
“Avoid the 13” award pins at a luncheon ceremony held in
Mountain View.
The work of five Morgan Hill Police officers in keeping drunk drivers off the road during the holiday period at the end of 2003 and the beginning of 2004 was recognized last week.
Cpl. Jerry Neumayer, Officer Gary Smith, Officer Scott Silva, Officer Steven Penington and Det. Shane Palsgrove received “Avoid the 13” award pins at a luncheon ceremony held in Mountain View.
This holiday season, from Dec. 12, 2003, to Jan. 2, 2004, approximately 870 DUI arrests were made by 16 participating agencies in Santa Clara County. This includes the 13 municipal agencies, the California Highway Patrol, San Jose University Police Dept. and San Jose – Evergreen College Police Department. This total reflects 58 more arrests than last year, with no fatalities in the county.
MHPD officers accounted for 32 arrests during the campaign. Smith made 12 arrests, and Silva, Penington, Neumayer and Palsgrove each had five.
During the campaign, Santa Clara County agencies increased patrolling and set up sobriety checkpoints. Educational flyers and posters bearing the familiar catch-phrase ‘‘designate or incarcerate’’ were distributed.
Officers who made four or more arrests during the annual campaign were presented a chrome ‘‘Deuce Pin.’’
There were 79 DUI-related collisions and an additional 26 traffic incidents involving injury.
Officer Robert Foster from the San Jose Police Department was honored as “deuce king” for the highest number of arrests over the 22-day campaign. He made 28 DUI arrests.
