By By Chris Allen Baker / staff writer
April 27, 2002
A Lauderdale County sheriff's deputy was honored Friday for writing the second-highest number of citations in the state last year for people driving under the influence of alcohol.
W. David Rosenbaum tied with Richard T. Vaughn, a state Highway Patrol officer, for the second-place award with 305 citations each. Lee County Sheriff's Deputy Calvin Mangum had the most, 337 citations.
Rosenbaum was among 44 law enforcement officers who were recognized Friday at a luncheon in Jackson for their efforts at ridding streets and highways of drunken drivers.
The annual recognition is sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety's public safety planning division.
Besides Rosenbaum, two other law officers from the Meridian area also were recognized: Highway Patrol officer Carl E. Smith had 119 DUI citations last year, while Broderick Hutchins had 144.
Officers were inducted into the "100," "200" and "300" clubs, based on the number of drunken driving arrests they made the previous calendar year.
Statistics show law enforcement agencies made 31,064 DUI arrests in 2001, down from 31,681 in 2000. In 2001, 2,665 of the total arrests were of people under 21, compared with 3,384 in 2000.
Mississippi's legal level of intoxication falls from .10 percent blood alcohol content to .08 percent on July 1.
Rosenbaum said that DUI enforcement is a team effort shared by all deputies. When other deputies encounter a DUI suspect, they call Rosenbaum who takes over the investigation.
DUI citations reflect the department's commitment to enforcement, he said, adding that currently one out of every 2,000 drunken drivers is caught.