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Airmen team with state police for night patrols

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Connie L. Bias
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Airmen at Fairchild are getting a cop's-eye view of the Spokane DUI scene. A new base program pairs Airmen Against Drunk Driving volunteers with the Washington State Patrol for night patrols with the state's DUI Task Squadron. Senior Airman Cindy Phillips, 92nd Air Refueling Wing command chief executive, was the first AADD member to participate in the partnership program. She patrolled with WSP's Trooper Jon McKee from 9:30. p.m. April 6 until 3:30 a.m. the next morning.

"Our first stop was a lady doing 80 miles per hour. Trooper McKee was pretty nice to her," said Airman Phillips. "He knocked her ticket down from $180 to about $70."

After that incident and one more erratic driver pullover, the night started to get really interesting.

"We were on Sprague at about 12:30 p.m., and a car was going westbound while we were driving eastbound. This car totally blew through a red light, so we spun around and went after him. They were weaving through the lanes, so the trooper turned on his blues, but it took about two blocks before they pulled over," she said.

Once he had pulled the driver over and ensured the situation was safe, Trooper McKee invited Airman Phillips to leave the patrol car and watch the scene unfold.

"I was standing six or seven feet away and I could smell the alcohol coming off him. Trooper McKee gave him a sobriety test and he failed miserably. It amazed me that this guy was driving like this; he ended up being twice the legal limit."

That sobriety test was confirmed after Airman Phillips and Trooper McKee escorted the detainee to a downtown processing room, located underneath the Spokane jail. After the trooper's part of the in-processing event was over, which generally takes about an hour, he and the Airman hit the streets again.

In no time, said Airman Phillips, Trooper McKee pulled over another intoxicated driver.

"This guy was not very cooperative," she said. "It ended up that he had a suspended license and already had a DUI on his record. It's crazy that people are repeat offenders. Why would he be drinking and out on the road driving when he has no license and a previous DUI?"

It was back to the processing room for them, and then back to patrol; the evening offered very little break time.

In addition to giving Fairchild Airmen an eye-opening education, the volunteer ride-along program also helps the WSP, according to Sergeant Douglas Jacobs, who is in charge of the DUI Task Squadron.

"This is a great partnership between us and the base," said the sergeant. "It's a good opportunity for people on base to see what we do. Any time we can reach out and partner with others, it raises awareness."

He and five other troopers make up the squadron, and as a group they made more than 800 arrests in 2006. Three of his five troopers rated in Washington's top 10 for arrests last year. Though this statistic highlights the dedication and achievement of the troopers, unfortunately, making more arrests is not the goal, said Sergeant Jacobs.

"It would be great if we didn't arrest one person some night for a DUI," he said.

Periodically, those DUIs are given to Fairchild personnel. Staff Sergeant Dawn Soileau, NCO in charge of 92nd Security Forces Squadron police services, acts as a liaison between AADD and WSP for the ride-along partnership. She says that though Fairchild doesn't have an overwhelming DUI problem, even one Airman driving drunk is too many.
"I hope this program will ultimately decrease the number of DUIs from the base because of the education it will provide," she said. "These ride-alongs give people a cold, hard look at what's out there and what law enforcement is doing to deter the problem."

Sergeant Soileau said she also hopes to see more personnel volunteering for AADD, and an increase in people interested in participating in the patrol partnership - hopefully enough participants to schedule weekly ride-alongs.

According to Airman Phillips, it would be well worth any Airman's time to take the patrol ride.

"I think anybody who even considers drinking and driving, if they actually had to see the result first-hand, would think twice."

And that, of course, is the very point.