Anchorage Police Chief Mark Mew announced Friday at a somber rally to recognize victims of drunk driving that his department would be ramping up DUI enforcement with the help of citizen volunteers. Anchorage Citizen Police Academy alumni will voluntarily patrol the streets of Alaska's largest city starting at 10 p.m., reporting dangerous and suspected drunk drivers to an increased staff of police dispatchers.
Mew's announcement comes after four alcohol-related vehicular deaths in the past two months. Last week, a drunk driver allegedly veered off the roadway in South Anchorage and killed two teenage girls, 15-year-olds Brooke McPheters and Jordyn Durr, as the girls were walking back from a nearby mall after shopping for back-to-school items. Reports indicated that the driver, 31-year-old Stacey Allen Graham, had three times the legal limit of blood alcohol content at the time of the crash.
The number of volunteers to boost DUI enforcement is currently at 40, Mew said. All of them are academy alumni, an 11-week course that teaches about police work, so they already have some know-how with spotting intoxicated drivers. The group also underwent additional DUI-scouting training on Thursday, he said.
Extra police dispatchers will also be on hand to take calls from the volunteers.
The 40 volunteers will "operate in the city often and indefinitely," Mew said, though he gave no other specifics.
The police chief requested residents to do the same -- report every dangerous driver immediately. He's previously heard from Anchorage residents who decided not to make calls to the police because they felt someone else would step up to the plate. He argued that mentality needs to change.
Magnets with pictures of the four recent DUI victims will adorn patrol cars in an effort to hasten the change. Police have already slapped magnets with pictures of Citari Townes-Sweatt behind the backdoors of their cruisers. Sweatt died when Lane Douglas Wyatt, a Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson airman, allegedly ran a red light early morning June 30 and t-boned the 20-year-old; she was the city's first alcohol-related vehicle death in the city in 14 months.
Tesoro, a member of the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation, will donate funds for the volunteers' gas, and Anchorage CHARR -- Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant, and Retailers association -- has offered additional resources for the community push.
The department looks forward to seeing the results of the volunteers' efforts, Mew said.
"We need to channel the anger and grief into something that will produce real results.
"Our goal is zero deaths and injuries ... as a result of the efforts," he said
A constant challenge
Three of the victims' families attended the rally. They wiped tears from their eyes and comforted each other with pats on the back as Mew and four other speakers addressed a crowd of teens, police, and concerned citizens in the West High School auditorium.
After the West High Choir sang and the Department's Chaplain Diane Peterson offered a prayer, Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan took the stage. He stood behind a podium with an APD logo mounted on its front, which was placed beside pictures of this year's drunk driving victims. Sullivan gave his condolences to the families grieving over the recent losses of their loved ones; he said he couldn't remember another short period of time with so much heartbreak.
Then, Col. Brian P. Duffy, commander of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, laid out the military installation's crackdown on drunk drivers since he took charge 14 months ago. Upon his arrival, alcohol and getting behind the steering wheel were immediately identified as a problem on base. In response, JBER initiated Operation Nighthawk -- squadrons of troopers set up DUI checkpoints at the installation's gates and conducted random drunk-driving screenings on base.
Military families who get stationed in Alaska are briefed on what is expected of them upon their arrival, he said. The tactics have appeared to work, he concluded. That hasn't kept the base free of drunk-driver trouble, however. This summer, two individuals have made their way through the base's gates and caused mayhem before being apprehended.
Next, Anchorage School District Superintendent Ed Graff addressed the gathering. He said that he had called family members of McPheters and Durr the same day they were lost. He knew the girls; he was working as principal at a local elementary when both started kindergarten. He remembers the girls, he said, as he struggled to keep his composure. It's tragic that their aspirations were needlessly cut short, he said.
"As educators, we teach (students) to make good choices, whether it's simply focusing on the road or choosing not to drink and drive," Graff said. The community has an obligation to come together and change its actions, he added.
Addressing the crowd last was Nancy Bidwell, the founder of Forget-Me-Not Mission, a nonprofit that aims to educate Alaskans about drunk driving and its impacts and reduce the number of related tragedies. The nonprofit also combats distracted driving, too, an increasing concern among parents with young drivers.
Bidwell's daughter was killed 30 years ago on Minnesota Drive when a drunk driver turned onto the highway going the wrong direction with his lights off and collided head-on with 17-year-old Shelly Reed. "We thought we could reduce the number of deaths, and we still try," Bidwell said. "Thirty years. Thirty years and drunk driving crashes are still going on."
Forget-Me-Not publishes "Soul Shaking Grief," a memorial book of sorts that tells the stories of people who died due to drunk drivers. The newest edition of the book will come out this year, and unfortunately, the nonprofit "already has new stories" to include in its pages, Bidwell said.
'Save our loved ones'
Following the somber speeches, attendees filed out of the auditorium for a candlelight vigil. The large group grabbed small candles on their way outside, and police officers helped light them.
West High's choir sang one final song, and the grieving families listened to some brief parting words before everyone went back to their cars and their personal troubles. A member of Townes-Sweat's family held a large photo of the young girl while standing in the crowd. On the back of the photo were the words "Save our loved ones, stiffer drunk driving laws!"
Carol Groff, Townes-Sweatt's aunt, said after the vigil that the police's efforts should help a lot. Her niece's death awakened an awareness; she has decided she'll report every dangerous driver she sees. Before tragedy struck the family, she always figured someone else would make that call. Now, if she didn't work a nightshift, she would be out on the streets trying to stop similar deaths from happening. Others should to the same, she said. "We need unity in our community."
Still, more could be done, she said. A first-time DUI offender should face jail time rather than a misdemeanor, she argued. First-time DUIs in Alaska are misdemeanors.
"People should face punishments similar to if they were selling dangerous drugs," Groff said. "If that's not enough of a deterrent, hell, I don't know...."
Townes-Sweatt's needless death has had some unexpected upsides, however. It's brought the family closer, and whenever the young adults go out to party, a designated driver is called upon. The family's taking more precautions, which is a good thing, she said.
Lanita Sweatt-Sanders, the victim's mother, is trying to start a charity in memory of her daughter called Citari's Fund. She simply wants to give back to the community, possibly by feeding kids in poverty. The mother is having difficulty cutting through all the red tape, but she'll keep at it. "We need to remember them somehow, you know?"
Correction: The 40 volunteers are graduates of the police department's citizen academy and not retired police officers as previously reported.
Contact Jerzy Shedlock at jerzy(at)alaskadispatch.com