Sobriety Checkpoint Yields Four DUI Arrests

By Andrew Gorosko

On the frigid night of Saturday, December 9, and early morning hours of Sunday, December 10, six Newtown police officers and a supervisor stood by amid ranks of brilliant red and blue stroboscopic lights on Hawleyville Road, at its intersection with Covered Bridge Road, methodically stopping each of the estimated 1,000 vehicles that passed by their sobriety checkpoint.

Their several hours of effort on the bone chilling night yielded four arrests on charges of driving under the influence, and 30 verbal warnings to motorists who had failed to wear their safety belts.

The checkpoint was positioned so that motorists turning onto northbound Hawleyville Road from Mt Pleasant Road could not see the vividly flashing array of police cars until they had encountered it.

The checkpoint was more apparent to motorists leaving the Exit 9 off-ramps of Interstate 84 or those traveling southbound on Hawleyville Road. In the event that, on seeing the checkpoint, motorists attempted to turn around to evade it, police were ready to pursue such drivers and stop them to learn why they had chosen not to stop at the checkpoint.

Police had positioned the holiday season checkpoint in the general area of a bar which had recently relocated to Hawleyville.

Police stopped auto after pickup truck after sport-utility vehicle for several hours, reciting several basic questions to gauge motorists’ sobriety and estimate whether they were driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

Emergency lighting banks provided by volunteer firefighters helped illuminate the dark December night.

Sgt Christopher Vanghele said that drivers whom police suspected of being intoxicated were pulled over onto a side street where they were given a standardized set of field sobriety tests.

 During the course of the night, police charged four men with driving under the influence. Those charged are: John W. Miller, 21, of Monroe; Alan C. Hall, 54, of New Milford; Thomas W. Natalie, 36, of Brookfield; and Norman R. Kozan, 39, of New Milford. Mr Natalie is scheduled to appear in Danbury Superior Court December 21. The other three men have January 4 court appearance dates.

Police made the earliest charge at 9:52 pm December 9; they pressed the latest charge at 12:48 am December 10.

Earlier this year, police conducted two similar checkpoints at the intersection of Mile Hill Road and Trades Lane at Fairfield Hills. Those checkpoints coincided with Newtown High School’s prom night and senior graduation night.

Besides the December 9/10 sobriety checkpoint in Hawleyville, police plan to conduct additional patrols during the holiday period to enforce laws on drunken driving, seat belt use, and child safety restraint use.

Those extra patrols will be on duty December 15, 16, 22, 23, and 31.

Costs for police overtime for the additional law enforcement are covered through highway safety grant funding.