Local Law Enforcement Agencies Set Up Sobriety Checkpoints During Labor Day Weekend

Local law enforcement agencies are teaming up to make sure everyone is safe on the roadways this Labor Day weekend.

“Oklahoma County alone is 720 square miles. It can happen anyplace, anytime, any time of day, driving down the road with other motorists, you're driving with intoxicated people,” Oklahoma County Captain David Baisden said.

Trooper Eric Foster said the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, OCPD and the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office joined forces to prevent any deadly crashes over the holiday weekend.

“Last year in 2021, we had 12 fatalities on just the Labor Day holiday and that's too many. One is too many,” Trooper Foster said

OHP said two of those deadly crashes were drug or alcohol related. To try to avoid that, law enforcement is patrolling throughout the metro and conducting sobriety checkpoints.

One of those checkpoints was at Southeast 89th Street and South Shields Boulevard.

Foster said suspected DUI arrests are on the rise this year.

“The main thing that we're wanting people to know is that when they think DUI they think intoxicated driving. They immediately think alcohol,” Foster said. “They're not just alcohol. They are legal substances. So, we're talking about THC which can be legal in some cases, but we're talking about prescription medicines.”

Law enforcement encourages folks to not drink and drive. They said choosing not to get behind the wheel could save someone's life.

“We're doing everything we can to keep those people off the roads to keep the roads of Oklahoma county, Cleveland County and the state of Oklahoma safe,” Captain Baisden said.