REDDI reports make it harder to drive drunk

In mid-August, Alaska State Troopers announced plans to conduct enforcement efforts to curb driving under the influence incidents and encourage the use of seat belts through the Labor Day weekend.

We’ve noticed the fruits of their labor showing up as DUI arrests in our Police Beat for the past month.

What’s more, we are seeing troopers’ efforts amplified by citizens armed with mobile phones who call 911 to Report Every Dangerous Driver Immediately. We’re even seeing multiple REDDI reports called in on the same vehicle, too.

It’s a good thing that REDDI reports are making it harder to drive under the influence, drive aggressively, follow too closely or otherwise drive dangerously in the Valley.

And while it may be easy to spot even troopers’ unmarked vehicles, it makes it so much harder to drive under the influence undetected when any driver on the road could be the one to report your dangerous driving.

This is a change for the better in the Mat-Su Valley. Too often we see folks with two, three, or more DUIs still showing up in the Police Beat. Even one instance where the man pulled over had his license revoked for more than 140 years, but was still driving drunk.

While it is worth pausing for a moment to recognize that 911 dispatchers seem to be seeing an increase in REDDI reports, we still have work to do. Lots of work.

Along with the other DUI arrests troopers made over the long Labor Day weekend was one in Big Lake that distinguished itself from the rest with its brazen lawbreaking.

It was right at 2 p.m., Saturday, when Alaska State Troopers’ Bureau of Highway Patrol conducted a traffic stop at Big Lake Lodge Road.

Officers stopped Brandon Paul Schatz, 36, of Big Lake, while driving an all-terrain vehicle with an open beer in his hand.

One reason we print the Police Blotter in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman is to add another level of accountability that will hopefully deter at least some drivers from getting behind the wheel while under the influence.

From time to time we get requests from the public, our families, or Frontiersman staff members to leave this or that item out of the Police Beat. Don’t bother asking; we print them all. Because it is humiliating to have the whole Valley know you got picked up for DUI.

We make this pledge to you, should you be arrested for DUI in the Mat-Su Valley – we promise to have a place waiting for you in our Police Blotter in the printed version of the Frontiersman and archived on our website permanently.