Brookfield police help make record number of arrests during St. Patrick's Day OWI patrol

Drunken drivers didn't have the luck of the Irish, as 17 agencies teamed up to catch drivers in Milwaukee County who had too much to drink.

A total of 49 drunken drivers were arrested Saturday and Sunday, including a fifth-offense arrest, fourth-offense arrest, two third-offense arrests, one second-offense arrest and one juvenile alcohol violation, according to Wauwatosa police Lt. Timothy Sharpee.

"The numbers are staggering - especially the total contact numbers," Sharpee said. "It is evident that everyone worked extremely hard during this long deployment."

Officers also made three drug arrests, recovered a stolen car and made an arrest for endangering safety by use of a weapon.

A total of 11 officers from the city and town of Brookfield participated in the St. Partick's Day/Night patrol, in its fourth year, through the Southeastern Wisconsin High Visibility OWI Task Force.

A total of 112 officers, deputies and troopers split up and held roll calls in five quadrants of the county between 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday before hitting the roads in search of impaired drivers.

Brookfield officers made 94 stops and 4 arrests and issued 48 tickets.

In total, personnel stopped 574 drivers and issued 423 citations.

Participating agencies included Wauwatosa, West Allis, Greenfield, Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department and Wisconsin State Patrol.

One Wauwatosa arrest included a 23-year-old Brookfield man driving on three wheels. His blood alcohol content was a staggering 0.28, more than three times the legal limit.

Previous numbers, business cooperation

This year's 49 arrests are the second-highest total since the task force began St. Patrick's Day patrols in 2010, but Brookfield Police Captain Horter said those numbers are based on several factors and should not necessarily be a reflection of more or fewer drunken drivers on roads.

"One would look at those numbers and say we are making a difference, which I think is true, but not in the manner the numbers suggest," Horter said. "We'd have to study many of the variables, such as day of week, weather, number of officers, other activity going on, etc. But the bottom line is 49 arrests are 49 too many"

Horter also credited local businesses and hotels in the area that cooperated with the Task Force's efforts and implemented plans of their own to deter drunken driving.

"We also want to recognize our new partners, the Greater Milwaukee Hotel and Lodging Association and Mo's Irish Pub," Horter said. "It was certainly a bonus to have the GMHLA offer discounted rooms to discourage drinking and driving, and it was nice to hold two of our street roll calls outside of their establishments, giving us the high visibility enforcement we sought to achieve."

Horter said the task force's next major deployment will be April 1, Milwaukee Brewer's opening day.

By The Numbers

St. Patrick's Day OWI Arrests

74

In 2010

33

In 2011

17

In 2012

49

In 2013