Decatur Illinois DUI Officer: A Night on Patrol
This report from The Herald and Review chronicles one night as the reporter rides along with Macon County Sherriff’s Deputy Kris Thompson, on the lookout for DUI offenders. Thompson is a full-time DUI officer, responsible for many DUI arrests in Macon County every month. He is called to many roadside stops to conduct field sobriety tests for other officers, recording it all on his dashboard camera.
Spotting someone driving without their safety belt or swerving over the center line is enough for Deputy Thompson to stop a vehicle for further investigation. Once the odor of alcohol has been detected or if the person appears intoxicated, he can then ask them to undergo field sobriety testing to determine if an arrest is necessary.
The article is an interesting insight into the world of Illinois drunk driving arrests. Deputy Thompson states that 2 DUI arrests make for a “good” night. Certainly he means this as a “good” night in keeping the roadways safe. That is, after all, his job.
Being popped for a DUI in the great state of Illinois can be a serious offense. The minimum charge you face will be a Class A misdemeanor, the most serious misdemeanor classification. This charge can land you jail time and most certainly will end up in the suspension of your driver’s license and costly fines.
If you are accused of reoffending and are charged with additional DUI offenses, the penalties become progressively worse. A third time DUI offense, for instance, is a felony charge that carries a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 7 days along with a minimum 1 year license suspension.
Also, beginning on January 1st of this year, Illinois began imposing a mandatory ignition interlock device for all DUI offenders. Whether this is your first DUI conviction or not, once you receive your license back off suspension you will be forced to deal with this penalty.
As evidenced by these dedicated patrols, Illinois law enforcement is serious about getting drunk drivers off of the roads and will do their best to prosecute them to the fullest degree. For this reason, if you are facing DUI charges, you need an experienced DUI attorney on your side to insure that you are treated fairly, and can defend against any aggressive prosecution that might cross the line from law enforcement to harassment. Call me today to discuss the charges you are facing and to see how we can help.
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