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The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
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Alcohol and the U: Liquor law arrests, violations a rollercoaster ride

By Ana Breton

Police officers were called to the West Stadium parking lot to investigate a hang-up call dialed from an emergency E-phone.

An officer had spotted a woman who was reported to be intoxicated walking around the parking lot wearing nothing above her waist.

When the police arrived, the woman was found incoherent in the back of a car that was pulled over. The woman and the man driving the car both gave officers conflicting information about their identities, according the police report. The woman was eventually arrested for intoxication and resisting arrest after fighting officers attempting to take her into custody.

The incident, which happened several months ago, is just one of many cases of intoxication that have occurred on campus so far this year. Out of the two dozen cases that have involved alcohol consumption, ten have resulted in arrests or referrals for intoxication.

The number, though, is significantly smaller compared to last year when there were 209 liquor law arrests and 210 liquor law violations referred for disciplinary action. The violations usually take place after a person is referred to the police or another campus authority for a violation of liquor laws but is not necessarily arrested, said Capt. Lynn Mitchell of the U Police Department.

The number of arrests and violations seem to mimic a rollercoaster ride. Although the number has decreased this year, alcohol-related arrests almost doubled in 2006 from the year before.

However, the small number of cases so far this year may change, said Sgt. Lynn Rohland of the U Police Department.

“The number could stay the same, we won’t know, since the year is not over yet,” she said. “Ups and downs are pretty normal.”

The numbers each year, though, have one thing in common: most involve DUI arrests.

Of the 209 arrests last year, 195 took place on public property near the U and involved drunk drivers, and DUI cases occurred during the late night or early morning hours and during the weekends, Mitchell said.

There have been about five DUI arrests this year, including one that occurred several months ago.

Police officers were called after smoke was reported to be coming out of a car. The officers found the car centered off the road, but noticed the smoke was actually dust being lifted off the street by the car.

The officers attempted to talk to the driver, according to the police report, but according to the police report, he was yelling profanities and was “clearly” intoxicated. He was later arrested for a DUI.

On another occasion this year, police officers arrested a man for DUI after they recorded that his blood alcohol level was almost four times the legal limit. The charge was later increased to a class A misdemeanor because in the car, the driver had his 11-year-old daughter and her 9-year-old friend.

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