BATESVILLE, Ark. (AP) - The Cadillac driver, who first ignored the stop signs and numerous flashing lights, was immediately surrounded by officers who pulled him from the car.
A syringe, along with a large quantity of Honeycomb cereal fell from his pants and was strewn along the pavement while officers kept him pinned on the highway.
Within minutes he was secured inside a squad car and they began a vehicle search. The man told officers he was a pharmacy tech student.
More syringes, a spoon, a used aluminum foil packet and a vial of liquid lorazepam (a medication used to treat anxiety) were found inside the car. The trunk yielded empty prescription drug bottles and three previous citations from law enforcement.
One was for illegal drugs.
Ben Runnels is a one-man band.
During the day, he is a law enforcement instructor at Black River Technical College and he also is in charge of the BAT Mobile, a 44-foot International truck that was built by Taylor Made Ambulance in Newport.
The portable sobriety unit is used by multiple law enforcement agencies throughout Arkansas to help raise community awareness and combat drug and alcohol driving-related problems.
Inside, Runnels has four cameras that are constantly recording events both inside and outside.
Here, the officers he has teamed up to work with can do field sobriety checks, obtain background information and conduct other tests to see if the person is drug or alcohol impaired.
Last week, Independence County staged several sobriety checkpoints over a four-night period utilizing the BAT (Breath Alcohol Testing) Mobile.
While most drivers were given the go-ahead, some were asked to pull to the side and given various citations and then released. Others were asked to consent to a portable breath test and if they failed were guided to the BAT Mobile for further examination.
Shortly after setting up on 167 South Sunday night, a driver was pulled into the BAT Mobile and told he needed to take some field sobriety tests.
Officer Brian Luetschwager patiently instructed the man on how to walk a straight line, count to a designated number and then after a short period of time he was administered another BAC by Detective Shane Meyer.
He failed and was told he would be charged with a DWI.
Officers then read him his rights and called for a wrecker to tow the vehicle while the driver was transported to jail, the Batesville Daily Guard reported (https://bit.ly/1je8ppG).
Shortly after that the incident happened with the driver of the Cadillac. With two en route to jail, the sobriety checkpoint team pulled up stakes and moved again.
Officers working in Independence County were paid with grant money obtained through the Independence County Hometown Wellness Coalition.
The coalition was awarded a grant in the amount of $625,000 ($125,000 each year for five years) by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, in cooperation with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The money allows officers to conduct compliance checks throughout the county and was obtained by grant writer Susi Epperson.
Epperson is also part of the leadership team along with Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaugh, Sonia Nix, Rob Leonard, Kristie Jenkins and Brittany Bennett. Law enforcement officers involved are Leonard, Meyer, Ernie Gillihan, John Carroll, Billy Croom, Luetschwager and Ben Keener.
Epperson said the team partnered with Black River Technical College to use its BAT Mobile during the four-night event. The BAT Mobile program is based at the Black River Technical College’s Law Enforcement Training Academy in Pocahontas, and is available for use by agencies throughout the state free of charge. It is grant-funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The grant covers all of the costs for use of the BAT Mobile Program including maintenance, fuel, lodging, salary and training.
On Sunday Epperson and Bennett, along with Guard staff, saw firsthand how the program worked from the time a driver was asked to take the portable breath test on the side of the road until he was read his rights and charged inside the portable crime lab.
Leonard, who coordinated the event, said the four-night checkpoint totaled five DWIs, three were alcohol related and two were drugs. The officers also issued 23 citations and totaled nine arrests.
He said they made over 500 contacts.
Runnels said they brought in 11 alcohol- and drug-related offenses in five hours and had two “crotch rocket” pursuits when he was working with offices in another county.
Runnels said statistics show the number of impaired drivers on the road to be high but he believes the number could be as many as two out of three drivers.
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Information from: Batesville Guard, https://www.guardonline.com/
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