Eagan Police Arrest 19 During Enhanced DWI Enforcement

Minnesota law enforcement agencies arrested 2,453 impaired drivers as part of an enhanced DWI enforcement campaign during Nov. 27 through Dec. 31, according to preliminary DWI arrest information from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) Office of Traffic Safety.

Based on preliminary data, there were 24,551 arrested for DWI in Minnesota in 2013. It is anticipated this number will approach 26,000 as data continues coming in and court cases are settled.

The Eagan Police Department arrested 19 drunk drivers during this period. The highest alcohol-concentration in Eagan was  0.21.

“The number of arrests made last month shows that too many of our drivers still make poor choices about drinking and driving,” said Donna Berger, Office of Traffic Safety director. “Our goal with these enhanced enforcement campaigns is to keep our roads safer and encourage drivers to make smarter decisions.”

The arrest numbers reflect statewide DWIs from 347 reporting agencies, including the Minnesota State Patrol, county sheriff’s offices and municipal law enforcement agencies.

The Minnesota State Patrol reported 546 arrests during the extra enforcement.

In the Twin Cities metro area, agencies with the most DWI arrests during the campaign included:

• 86 – Minneapolis PD
• 80 – St. Paul PD
• 44 – Bloomington PD
• 36 – Maple Grove PD
• 31 – Eden Prairie PD

The west-metro district of the State Patrol reported the highest alcohol-concentration in the state during the campaign at 0.34, more than four times the legal limit of 0.08. This was followed by 0.33 from Lakes Area Police Department and 0.32 from Crookston, South Lake Minnetonka and St. Paul police departments. 

Twelve agencies reported their highest alcohol-concentration in an arrest was at or above 0.30.

All arrests by agency and their highest alcohol-concentration DWI arrest are available here.