Super Bowl weekend and increased police presence in the Coachella Valley
"We will be concentrated in the downtown area where we will have bars open showing the games," says Lieutenant Frank Browning from the Palm Springs Police department
Lieutenant Frank Browning hopes the increased patrolling will deter people from drinking and driving.
California Highway Patrol is also increasing their presence, saying Saturation Patrol "means we're deploying more officers out there to be in view, and to be making more traffic stops, just to make sure that we're getting impaired drivers off the roadway."
"If they do get pulled over, they will and are deemed to be under the influence, they will get a DUI," says Officer David Torres, a CHP, public information officer. "But what we're trying to do is reduce the amount of number of collisions out there and reduce the amount of people that get hurt."
In Palm Springs, law enforcement says, "we don't tend to get too many problems with Super Bowl Sunday." "Maybe it depends on the teams that are playing, but this Super Bowl Sunday, we don't anticipate too much issues at all," says Lieutenant Browning.
Browning says that if someone is arrested for drunk driving, they can possibly get a DUI and even spend some time in jail; "Especially a car collision and you tend to hurt somebody whether in your cars or somebody else," says Lieutenant Browning. "That's essentially the worst case scenario."
Browning says some bike patrol cops are in contact with bar owners.
"I gathered my staff today and we talked about Super Bowl, people want to have a good time, and we need to be very vigilant about not over serving, making sure that people are eating and that they're being careful," says Jim Hicks, the owner of Impala Bar and Grill in Palm Springs.
On the east end of the valley at Neil's Lounge, General Manager, Josh Rush is expecting his locals to come out. "If we feel that they are getting intoxicated, we will cut them off. We also have a van, a designated driving van, that we use to take them home," says Rush.
