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Porter County Sheriff's Top DUI enforcers
Officer Brockman Officer Praschak and Officer Bowles
(left to right)
Top DUI enforcers honored
Portage Officer Michael Candiano led all officers in
county with 113 arrests in 2007
BY KEN KOSKY Date posted online: Friday, December 14,
2007
VALPARAISO | Portage Master Patrolman Michael Candiano
set a record for number of drunken driving arrests by
putting 113 suspects behind bars this year. Candiano
and the other top DUI enforcers of 2007 were honored by
the Porter County Drunk Driving Task Force and Mothers
Against Drunk Driving at a banquet Thursday in
Valparaiso. Candiano said his key to success was
getting to work straight midnights n the time when most
drunken drivers are on the road, and having a crew of
officers who handle the other calls while he's making
arrests. Candiano said he's motivated to catch drunken
drivers because a Portage police dispatcher was killed
by one when he was a rookie officer. His arrest total
breaks the previous mark of 100 set by another Portage
officer three years ago. "A lot of us aren't going to
be at a bank robbery ... ," Candiano said. "This
(drunken driving enforcement) is one of ways we can
actually find a crime in progress and stop it before
anything worse happens." Police officers throughout
Porter County made 1,260 drunken driving arrests in
2007, a 27 percent increase over the previous year. "I
was impressed by the numbers and deeply saddened by the
numbers n that we have that many drunken drivers on the
roads," said Kitty Greene, state executive director of
Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Drunk Driving Task Force
Chairman Michael Grennes said the numbers show the
county has a serious problem with drunken driving, but
that law enforcement is tackling it. He said the Task
Force helped put more officers on the road in 2007 and
will likely increase funding for extra patrols in 2008.
Burns Harbor police Chief Jerry Price, whose family has
been impacted by drunken driving, told the officers
their hard work is appreciated. "My cousin (who was
killed) and my daughter (who was injured) would thank
you for getting them off the road," Price said. Burns
Harbor police Officer Charlie Mathewson, who led his
department with 25 arrests, believes he's keeping the
drunken driver and the public safe every time he makes
an arrest. Valparaiso police Officer Jerame Simpson, who
led his department with 36 arrests, said he looks for
drivers going left of center, stopping at lights for too
long or going too fast or slow. "I know what the
ramifications of drinking and driving are. It's a good
experience to get a drunken driver off the road before a
crash occurs," Simpson said. "There are people alive
today because of what these officers have done," Indiana
State Police Lt. Larry Keiser said.
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