Tucson-area police agencies to step up DUI enforcements for holidays

Yarel Ruiz, 8, was the perfect daughter, her father Yarko Ruiz said. She spent hours doing puzzles, riding her bicycle at the park, chasing butterflies and making YouTube videos around the city. She loved donuts, specifically Amy’s Donuts, and was even there at its grand opening.

She was ready to take on second grade and had dreams of graduating from the University of Arizona and becoming a doctor; however, Ruiz’s life was cut short on June 1, 2021, when an impaired driver struck the vehicle she was in, killing her and injuring her sister and mother.

With a month left in 2022, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has investigated 40 fatal collisions on county roads. Sixty percent of the incidents involved subjects who were impaired by drugs or alcohol. The Tucson Police Department has also reported 40 vehicle/motorcycle fatalities this year.

In 2021, 49 people were killed in alcohol related crashes in Pima County, according to an annual report by the Arizona Department of Transportation. Statewide, 243 people died in alcohol-related crashes last year, up from 228 deaths in 2020.

In an effort to curb those numbers, the Southern Arizona DUI Task Force hosted a kickoff event on Thursday, announcing its intensified holiday DUI enforcement.

The period of time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is the most dangerous time of the year on the road due to an increased number of impaired drivers, the sheriff’s department said in a news release. Last year, there were 18 people killed in traffic crashes statewide during the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend; during the extended Christmas holiday weekend, there were 12 traffic-related fatalities statewide, ADOT’s annual report showed.

As a result, the Southern Arizona DUI Task Force, which is represented by all local law enforcement agencies, will be deploying saturation patrols each weekend through the beginning of the new year.

Local agencies will also staff officers every night to detect and remove impaired drivers from the streets of Pima County.

At the event, Tucson Police Chief Chad Kasmar, Oro Valley Police Chief Kara Riley and the sheriff’s department Chief of Staff Joseph Cameron thanked Alberto Gutier, the director of the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, for the grants that made the increased enforcements possible.

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They also highlighted the patrol officers at the agencies, thanking them for the work they do when it comes to keeping the streets safe.

“I spent most of my career working patrol before I became an administrator, and it really is about the troops and what they do, the risks they take and the holidays they miss,” Cameron said. “We’re just going to keep chipping away at it and banging on it till we start knocking these statistics down.”

Yarko, who spoke at the event, said it brings him peace knowing there is someone patrolling the streets and preventing drunken drivers from being behind the wheel.

“Yarel loved Batman movies and just like Gotham City needs Batman, Tucson needs you to save and protect us,” Yarko said.

Last week, Tucson police announced it accepted a $91,277 grant from the Governor’s Officer of Highway Safety and a $140,000 grant from the Oversight Council on Driving or Operating Under the Influence Abatement to help enhance DUI enforcements in the city. The grants will help provide additional personnel support, employee related expenses and overtime expenses.

The grants will also assist members of the impaired driver enforcement unit in helping educate members in the department with a mentorship program where officers will ride with members of the unit to become more proficient in investigating impaired drivers.