Police Capt. Ed O’Carroll, commander of the Sully District Station. Photo by Bonnie Hobbs.
Centreville — Sometimes, a show of force pays off in a big way — and that’s what happened during the Sully District Police Station’s recent All Hands on Deck operation.
“Fifty police officers were on duty Friday night, April 11, and nearly 125 citations were written,” said the station commander, Capt. Ed O’Carroll. He was addressing the May 14 meeting of the station’s Citizens Advisory Committee.
Besides that, he said, “Eight drunk drivers were taken off the road, including one person with a .14 blood-alcohol content [nearly twice the legal limit].”
O’Carroll also noted that all the officers participating that night were working on “voluntary, adjusted time and received no overtime pay. There are about 105 sworn officers here, so we had about half the staff out that night.”
On an average night, he said, “When we have eight to 10 officers out there, we only get one or two drunks off the road. So we could use more officers out on the front line.” And as June nears, he also had some advice for local residents. Said O’Carroll: “Be extra cautious this summer as school lets out and young drivers are on the road.”