Medford police arrest a dozen for drunken driving

MEDFORD, Ore. — Police officers had a busy Saturday night arresting holiday drunken drivers

Altogether 12 people were arrested for driving under the influence of intoxicants between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., including one man who had a blood alcohol level of .48, six times the legal limit of .08.

“He was so drunk, he passed out at an intersection,” said Medford police Sgt. Steve Furst.

Furst said this was one of the worst drunken-driving nights that he could remember.

The drunken-driving operation was an effort of the Medford Police Department with assistance from Oregon State Police, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Talent Police Department and Central Point Police Department, under a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Altogether, 14 additional officers were on the streets of Medford in an operation partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Medford police sent out a press release on Friday to let people know that officers would increase patrols looking for drunken drivers, Furst said.

“It’s a little disappointing,” he said. “We told people tomorrow night we would be out.”

No car crashes from drunk driving occurred on Saturday night, but getting the drunken drivers off the road could have saved a life, Furst said.

He said it’s particularly disappointing because drunken drivers have many options to get rides home and avoid endangering lives.

Most of the drunken-driving arrests occurred after the person left Medford bars, Furst said.

While a majority of arrests were for drinking, one arrest resulted from a person being under the influence of cannabis. The arrest was made after calling in a drug recognition officer to determine the substance the person had consumed.