Police Stop More Than 700 Motorists At Sobriety Checkpoint

By Andrew Gorosko

In the course of a seven-hour sobriety checkpoint conducted on the night of Friday, June 9, and early morning hours of Saturday, June 10, town police stopped more than 700 motorists traveling on the Fairfield Hills bypass road, charging one man with drunken driving, and noting 22 motor vehicle violations involving seat belts, emissions testing, and vehicle equipment problems.

A team of town police officers was stationed on either side of the traffic signal at the intersection of the bypass road and Trades Lane and stopped each vehicle that passed by between 8 pm and 3 am, said Acting Police Chief Michael Kehoe. Police conducted the checkpoint to coincide with the June 9 graduation of seniors at Newtown High School.

The bypass road also is known as Mile Hill Road and Wasserman Way.

The sole person charged with driving while intoxicated was Pedro F. Delgado, Jr, 26, of Trumbull. After processing, police released Delgado for a June 27 appearance in Danbury Superior Court.

Detective Sergeant Henry Stormer supervised the seven patrol officers who conducted the checkpoint.

“All in all, these [checkpoints] are necessary and they’re good for our town… A high priority is traffic control and traffic safety… It sends a strong message. It sends a good message,” Acting Chief Kehoe said of the checkpoint approach to drunken driving enforcement.

In an initial sobriety checkpoint conducted May 19 and 20 to coincide with the Newtown High School junior-senior prom, police stopped an estimated 400 motorists. But on June 9 and 10, they stopped more than 700 drivers.

Police attribute at least part of the increase in passing motorists to the many drivers who left westbound Interstate-84 at Exit 11 to avoid congestion on the highway and wound up going through the sobriety checkpoint as they sought an alternate route.

“It’s the citizen’s right to move about freely in society,” Acting Chief Kehoe noted, adding that police are careful not to intrude on motorists’ civil rights in stopping vehicles at the checkpoint. Sobriety checkpoints are in the best interests of society, he added.

“I think the public wants it, in a way. We’re making the roads of Newtown safe,” he said.

As motorists approach the scene, signs alerting them to the DWI checkpoint are posted 500 feet ahead of the checkpoint. Police are posted in cars near those signs to pursue anyone who decides to make a U-turn to avoid the checkpoint.

Motorists at the checkpoint stop at a portable stop sign where they are approached by police who introduce themselves and announce they are conducting a sobriety checkpoint to deter drunken driving.

Police officers follow procedures to learn whether drivers are intoxicated. Each sobriety check takes about 30 to 45 seconds.

Police ask drivers where they are coming from and whether they have consumed any alcohol or drugs that day. If motorists acknowledge having had alcohol or drugs, police ask when the substances were consumed and how much was consumed.

While asking these questions, police look for any obvious signs of intoxication such as bloodshot eyes, the presence of alcohol containers in the vehicle, and the smell of marijuana. During the brief stop, police also seek intoxication tip-offs such as slurred speech, evasiveness, and nervousness, said Acting Chief Kehoe.

Most motorists who are stopped at checkpoints are cooperative, he said.

Besides the one DWI arrest, police issued 16 warnings for seat belt violations, plus six warnings for other motor vehicle violations.

Police were most busy at the checkpoint from 8 pm to 1 am, with activity tapering off from 1 to 3 am, Sgt Stormer said.

Motorists who were stopped were both local and from out-of-town, he said, noting that many drivers had gotten off the congested I-84 to find alternate routes home to nearby towns.

“We stopped a lot of kids,” the sergeant said. He described the youths’ demeanor as polite and respectful.

Newtown Hook and Ladder firefighters provided floodlighting for the checkpoint. The Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps stood by as a precaution. Police also used their utility vehicle at the checkpoint.  

Police plan to conduct a third sobriety checkpoint this summer at a different location. The checkpoints are funded by a federal highway safety grant.