by Joseph Friedrichs

There were times Martina Chavis-Esquibel would wake up with a hangover at her mother’s house and have no clue how she made it home.
“I would look outside and realize I drove,” she said. “And I would have no idea how I got there.”

It took an arrest for driving under the influence and witnessing several close friends have their lives forever altered by DUI arrests and traffic accidents for Chavis-Esquibel to fully understand how detrimental drinking and driving can be. And so she quit doing it, by choice. Others aren’t always so fortunate.

 
In a community with breweries, taverns and bars dotting the downtown landscape like stars on the American flag, many local citizens are forced to adjust their drinking lifestyles (or at least how they travel to and fro) due to an impending fear of ending up in the county jail after being arrested for DUI. And while it’s all but impossible to dispute the claim driving while intoxicated is a serious hazard and major public-safety concern, some local citizens have expressed outrage at the Durango Police Department for essentially sniping out city streets, almost yearning to make an arrest for DUI.

“(The Durango Police) are aggressive and pull people over for minor traffic infractions,” said Brian Schowalter, a local attorney who represents many clients who have been charged with DUI. “The stops are not illegal but they are manipulative.”

In 2011, Durango Police arrested 348 people for driving under the influence of alcohol, according to Lt. Ray Shupe. They arrested an additional 20 people last year for driving under the influence of drugs. From Jan. 1 - Sept. 6, 2012, Durango Police had arrested 193 people for DUI, Shupe said.

On nearly any given day court is in session at the La Plata County Courthouse, DUI convictions are more commonplace than the Pledge of Allegiance in a third-grade classroom. And nobody can recite them smoother than La Plata County Judge Martha Minot.

A typical Friday night “bar scene” in Durango. But when the fun’s over, best not to climb behind the wheel./Photo by Joseph Friedrichs

“Twelve days in jail, 48 hours public service, $81.10 in restitution,” Minot will decree, followed soon thereafter by another verdict for someone charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. “100 days in jail with 78 days suspended, 48 hours public service, $91.90 restitution.”

During the recent Thanksgiving week, 11 arrests were made by the Durango Police Department for DUI. Over Halloween, nine DUI arrests were made by Durango Police. That number compares with seven arrests made during the 4th of July week. Locals and tourists alike are prime targets.

 

And the booze is not hard to find.  

“This is an alcoholic town,” Chavis-Esquibel said. “There are liquor stores everywhere, bars on every corner. It’s all over Durango.

“Though really,” she continued, “the officers are just doing their jobs.”

Be that as it may, other Durango citizens feel the police push their call of duty too far.

Local resident Brandon Walter said he has been pulled over in Durango “numerous times” for what he called “bullshit reasons.” Common reasons for motorists being stopped late at night in Durango include burnt-out taillights, failure to make a complete stop, speeding (even if they are traveling one or two miles over the speed limit), motorcyclists not wearing protective eye gear and burnt-out license-plate bulbs.

“It’s a fine line between warranted traffic stops and just being invasive,” Walter said. “There has to be more of a middle ground than people being terrified to get home.”

Police officers are trained to observe traffic violations, Shupe said, disputing the claim DUI patrols involve any level of harassment.

“Officers make traffic stops based on probable cause that a traffic violation occurred,” Shupe said. “Officers are also trained to look for signs of intoxication while on traffic stops. It does not matter the time of day as officers often make arrests for DUI during the daylight hours.”

Another local attorney, Stephen Wells, agrees with Walter about the late-night traffic stops.

“Because our town is small and because there aren’t a great deal of shift workers leaving or going to work late at night, a large percentage of the people downtown after (midnight) are coming from the bars,” he said. “I am certain that police cars simply pick out a car and follow it, looking for a traffic violation.”

Wells said during jury selection, he often tells the jurors about a client he once had who owned a bar in town.  

“She was a nondrinker but because she closed the bar each night and (was) then on the street driving home, she was stopped two to three times per week,” Wells said. “I ask if that bothers anyone on the panel. Surprisingly, it bothers very few.”

Shupe said the reason more DUI arrests are made in the evening is quite simple.

“Certainly more DUI arrests are made at night,” he said, “because that’s when most people drink alcohol.”

According to recent statistics gather by the FBI, the Durango Police Department has more police officers per capita than average cities in Colorado. The Police Department also applies every year to the Heat Is On campaign, which helps fund an extra officer to patrol exclusively for impaired driving.

Walter said many of the people in his social scene have been arrested for DUI in Durango, including one friend who fell asleep downtown in a parked car and was discovered by police.

Wells said DUI is “the only crime where we give them all of the evidence to be used against us.”

“Roadside tests are voluntary yet we do them when asked,” Wells said. “We must provide a chemical test or we lose our drivers license for one year. In almost every other crime, there are large investigations to gather evidence. They require warrants and fingerprints and other physical evidence. With DUI we give it all to them.”

The punishment for driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher or by prescription or illegal drugs in Colorado is not gentle. First-time offenders may face up to a year in jail, a fine of $1,000, license suspension for up to nine months and nearly 100 hours of community service.

Walter said experience has taught him walking the extra mile or two to town is worth not hopping behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking alcohol. Despite the weather, Walter said he and many of his friends choose to walk or perhaps shell out the cash for a cab ride.

“It just isn’t worth it,” he concluded.

Ultimately, the choice to drink and drive is exactly that: A choice. Those who choose to do so engage in a dangerous activity with the potential for serious consequences. It’s a gamble, and in Durango many people end up losing in one form or another.

Lieutenant Shupe said there have been five fatal accidents inside the city limits of Durango between 2001-12 where alcohol was the major contributing factor.

“These are truly senseless deaths that can easily be prevented,” he said. “This is a big issue and one death is too many from DUI.”