Behind the Badge
Behind the Badge OC spent time with the Garden Grove PD at a DUI checkpoint on Feb. 13.
To view our video coverage, click on above photo.
Like many law enforcement agencies, the Garden Grove PD holds regular DUI checkpoints — more as an educational tool for motorists rather than as a “trap” to arrest as many offenders as possible, Officer Royce Wimmer said.
“The whole message here is not to arrest people, it’s simply to deter drunk driving,” Wimmer said of the two-step screening process at DUI checkpoints.
Added Officer Katherine Anderson: “We are looking for people who are at the limit, or over the limit, and that are a danger out on the roadways…We aren’t out to just get everybody just because you had a drink.
“If you think you’re able to drive and you show that you can through all of these tests, then we let you go.”
Wimmer recently appeared on Chapman University’s “Chapman News Live” to discuss a so-called loophole in DUI checkpoints.
To view that segment, click here.
“Some people might find the checkpoints as an inconvenience to them,” Wimmer said. “But we want them to understand that the police department is doing this to get the message out that we are taking drinking and driving seriously.”
Officer Kathy Anderson of the Garden Grove PD assesses whether a driver should be further evaluated for possible DUI while checking for driver’s licenses at a checkpoint on Harbor Boulevard near Chapman Avenue on Feb. 13. Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Master Officer Lino Santana of the Garden Grove PD take a suspected drunk driver into custody after administering DUI tests. Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Master Officer Tom Capps asks to see a driver’s license and assesses whether a driver should be further evaluated for possible DUI.
Photo: Steven Georges
Sgt. James Fischer oversees a DUI and driver’s license checkpoint at Harbor Boulevard and Chapman Avenue in Garden Grove on Feb. 13.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Master Officer Nathan Morton of the Garden Grove PD searches a van driven by someone who was suspected of driving under the influence near 1 a.m. on Feb. 13. The van also contained passengers who were minors out after curfew.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Garden Grove PD Master Officer Luis Payan, left, and Master Officer Nathan Morton search a van driven by someone suspected of driving under the influence. Photo: Steven Georges
Master Officer Royce Wimmer of the Garden Grove PD takes a suspect into custody.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Photo: Steven Georges
