Riverside County’s top DUI arresting officers honored

Riverside County’s top DUI enforcement officers were honored Wednesday in a ceremony in Riverside.

The 2014 Law Enforcement Recognition & DUI Training Seminar was held at the Riverside Convention Center and sponsored by the California Office of Traffic Safety, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Avoid the 30, Riverside County’s coalition of law enforcement agencies targetting impaired drivers.

More than a hundred officers from local cities, the county and the California Highway Patrol were recognized for their work, along with prosecutors who focus on impaired driving crimes.

The county’s top DUI officer made 253 arrests during the past year.

Another ten officers racked up more than a hundred arrests each.

MADD’s National President, Jan Withers, attended along with Lory Gleason who’s son, Ryan Smith, died at the age of 22 when his car was struck by a repeat offender drunk driver who ran a red light in Palm Desert in 2002.

Both mothers shared powerful personal stories of loss and inspiration to prevent future drunk driving fatalities.

News Channel 3’s Jeff Stahl served as emcee for the annual event, which was also attended by Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff and District Attorney Paul E. Zellerbach.