Two for the Road: Officers Concentrate on Catching Drunk Drivers

Brea police officers Billy Lee Hutchinson and Christopher Haddad start work at 6 p.m. and their sole responsibility is to locate and arrest the after-work, “happy hour” drunk driver. At 2 a.m., they go after drinkers who close the bars and drive home.

Said Haddad: “Some drivers literally bounce off the curb or stop for green lights, and when I stop them most disagree they’ve had too much to drink.”

Adds Hutchinson: “When people are under the influence they can only concentrate on one thing at a time so if they worry about driving straight they forget about their speed or vice versa. Most of them feel they’re not under the influence.”

No matter. Both say that if they stop someone, chances are the driver will be arrested, handcuffed and brought to jail. “We always have a reason when we stop someone,” Haddad said.

The pair, who received special training for a 27-month program being financed with state and national grants, said word about them is getting around, although they have been operating only a couple of weeks.

“We’ve heard some of the smaller bars are warning their customers about us,” Hutchinson said.