News Releases

Holiday Alcohol Task Force Begins; Task Force Cruiser Struck by Impaired Driver During Enforcement

For Immediate Release: Monday, November 18, 2019

Holiday Alcohol Task Force Begins:

With the holidays approaching, there will be an increase in social events and parties that involve the consumption of alcohol.  The Montgomery County Police Holiday Alcohol Task Force, comprised of officers from the Alcohol Initiatives Section and patrol officers from the six police districts, as well as officers from the Gaithersburg Police Department, the Rockville City Police Department, the Maryland National Capital Park Police Department - Montgomery County Division, the Takoma Park Police Department, troopers from Maryland State Police, sheriff deputies from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, and officials from the Montgomery County Alcohol Beverage Services Alcohol Enforcement Team, will be devoting their full time and attention to detecting alcohol-related offenses this holiday season.

The task force began on November 13 and will continue through January 5, 2020.

• During this past week’s Holiday Alcohol Task Force (November 13 to November 17), task force officers arrested 33 people for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs (DUI). *

*It should be noted that the above arrests include only those arrests made by task force officers and do not include the additional arrests made by patrol officers in the performance of their duties.  Therefore, the number of total DUI arrests made by officers during this time period is higher.

Maryland-National Capital Park Police Cruiser Struck by Impaired Driver During Task Force Enforcement (Maryland-National Capital Park Police-Montgomery County Division Press Release):

"On Sunday, November 17, 2019, at approximately 3:00 a.m., a Maryland-National Capital Park Police officer was completing a traffic stop southbound on Georgia Avenue at Belvedere Boulevard. At the time of the stop, he was working as a member of the Montgomery County Holiday Alcohol Task Force. While walking back to his unmarked police vehicle, the officer observed a silver Jeep Wrangler approaching from the rear at a high rate of speed. Recognizing that the approaching vehicle may not stop or move over in time, the officer attempted to avoid the impact and took evasive action on foot. The impact propelled the police vehicle across two lanes of traffic and came to rest with the officer partially trapped underneath his own vehicle.

The officer, the 26-year old female driver of the striking vehicle, and her passenger were transported to local area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. All parties have since been released. The driver of the striking vehicle was arrested and charged by the Montgomery County Department of Police with Driving Under the Influence.

This incident is a stark reminder of the dangers law enforcement professionals encounter in their efforts to make our streets safe for all. We remind everyone to not drink and drive –the results of doing so can be catastrophic. Have a safe and responsible holiday season."

For more information, contact: Captain Jeffrey Coe

Public Information Officer

Maryland-National Capital Park Police- Montgomery County Division

301-929-2722/[email protected]

We want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable holiday season.  Always choose a sober ride.

NOTE TO MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA:

Next week, a media advisory will be issued regarding an opportunity to learn more about the task force efforts.  The media opportunity will be in the evening of Wednesday, November 27.

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Release ID: 19-456
Media Contact: Rebecca Innocenti 
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