BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The 'Morning Lift' is a series on 23ABC that utilizes a news unit with 3 GoPro cameras, to chat with local officials about topics considered vital to local viewers, out on the streets where it happens.
I got the chance to hit the streets with BPD Lieutenant Joe Galland, a Commander in the traffic division, for a saturation patrol during the department's last DUI checkpoint on August 15th. The special patrol utilizes grant funding from the Office of Traffic Safety to put more officers on the street, looking for impaired drivers.
"If I’m doing a DUI saturation patrol, he just caught my attention,” said Lt. Joe Galland as we drove down 24th Street in downtown Bakersfield, "if he continues this behavior; we’re probably going to stop and have a conversation."
Galland has seen a lot of DUI arrests, investigations and too many that end in death during his career.
"In 2023, we got all the way up into the 70s for fatal collisions," said Galland, "it’s personal, and so it’s very, so I take it very personally.”
Lt. Galland said the number of DUI fatalities dropped to 60 in 20-24. Each year, the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, recognizes officers in Kern County for DUI-related arrests. The Office of Traffic Safety provides grants to local law enforcement to fund activities like DUI checkpoints, saturation patrols, and specialized training.
In the next year, Galland says the BPD will receive more than $400,000, and while it makes a difference, he says it’s not enough.
"When people call 911, see drunk driver, a lot of times, we just don’t have the manpower," said Galland.
I gave Galland a ‘lift’ during the BPD’s most recent checkpoint on Aug. 15th.
On this night, the saturation patrol made 3 DUI arrests, compared to one at the checkpoint. Less than an hour into the drive, Galland directed me to a call involving a vehicle in a yard near South High School. Once we arrived, officers with the saturation patrol were already on scene, and determined the vehicle in question was actually ‘hit’ by the suspect vehicle with such force, it pushed it in a half circle to the other side of the street. We then drove down neighboring streets, following a trail of fluid he believed was from the hit-and-run vehicle. During the search, a home video camera at the crash site revealed the suspect was driving a work truck and trailer. It wasn’t long, just a few minutes, and the truck and trailer were found not far away.
"And there he is, right there, how much you want to bet that’s him right there," said Galland as we pulled up outside a home. The driver was located inside, and after conducting their investigation, he was arrested.
I asked Galland what were the chances that you find the DUI driver without the saturation patrol.
"No, we don’t find it; we don’t even have anybody to go look for him," said Galland adding that his officers would have to start from scratch looking for the suspect on the following Monday.
"At that point, you’re not going to get a DUI; you’re only going to get hit and run, the misdemeanor hit and run at best," said Galland.
In the first half of this year, the BPD has made nearly 500 DUI arrests with seven deaths. They’ve also conducted 46 saturation patrols thanks to OTS funding. According to MADD, the CHP Bakersfield office has reported 734 arrests with 16 DUI-related deaths so far this year. While the DA’s office is prosecuting more than 1,600 misdemeanor DUIs involving alcohol, and more than 70 DUI felonies.
The OTS grants run from October 1st through the end of September in the following year. As for the Labor Day weekend, no word on any checkpoints but law enforcement will be out on maximum enforcement.
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