For Immediate Release
Contact: Gerrit Boeck Phone: 928-226-5025
Date: April 22, 2021
Flagstaff, AZ – The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office has received a Grant from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety in the amount of $22,550.00 with emphasis on marijuana related traffic stops and arrests.
The Proposition 207 grant money provided by the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety will be utilized to purchase Portable Breath Testing Devices, Speed Radars, and Digital Cameras for deputies patrolling the roadways within Coconino County. These devices will be purchased immediately and put into use in anticipation for a busy summer season in Coconino County. These tools will assist in the detection, apprehension, and prosecution of those who choose to operate a vehicle while being impaired.
The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office is dedicated to aggressive traffic enforcement with the specific goal of making our streets, roadways, and highways safer for the citizens of the State of Arizona. During 2020 we saw a record number of fatal and near fatal crashes along with unprecedented visitation on the public lands within our County. Many of these fatal and near fatal crashes involved drivers who were impaired by alcohol and/or drugs. With the passage of Proposition 207, we have seen an increase in marijuana impaired drivers and expect this trend to continue.
Sheriff Jim Driscoll has established holding accountable drivers who make the decision to drive while impaired by drugs, specifically marijuana, a top priority within our organization. Over the past several months, deputies have received specialized training in impaired driving. CCSO has three deputies attending Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) training in June. DRE training will provide the deputies specialized training to detect and identify drug impaired drivers.
Our goal, in partnership with the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and other Northern Arizona Law Enforcement Agencies is to reduce alcohol and drug impaired driving, including conducting training programs and purchasing equipment for detecting testing and enforcing laws against driving, flying, or boating while impaired. We want to thank the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety for this grant award and look forward to putting it to use to help us make the roadways within our county a safer place to travel.
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