Drunks in Valley Bars Get Special Police Attention

Alarmed by a nearly threefold increase in drunk-driving fatalities in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles police said Wednesday that officers are teaming up with state authorities to conduct surprise inspections at bars, citing and arresting drunk patrons and the people who serve them.

The teams, which will consist of two uniformed police officers and a state Alcoholic Beverage Control investigator, will inspect several hundred Valley bars over the holidays, authorities said.

It is the first time Los Angeles police will conduct inspections with beverage control investigators, who enforce state liquor license laws.

“The intent is to prevent people from drinking and driving,” said Capt. Scott La Chasse, commander of the Valley Traffic Division. “If we observe violations, we are going to take enforcement action. We will arrest that person. There is no amnesty.”

At a press conference in the Van Nuys Jail drunk tank, police said the Valley was targeted because there have been 23 fatal drunk-driving accidents this year in the Valley, compared to eight in 1985. Citywide, there have been 50 such accidents, a 43% increase over last year.

The number of drunk-driving accidents in the Valley involving serious injuries has jumped about 13%, from 175 in 1985 to 197 this year. Citywide, the increase is 5%, police said.

The statistics do not include last week’s two suspected drunk-driving crashes on the Ventura Freeway in Agoura and the San Gabriel River Freeway near Whittier, which killed 10 people. Those cases are being investigated by the California Highway Patrol.

He said the Valley’s wide, straight streets lend themselves to more serious accidents because “a drunk driver thinks he is controlling himself better on them and tends to drive faster.”

In the crackdown, which began Friday, beverage control inspectors are warning bar owners not to serve intoxicated patrons and will cite those they find in violation of state liquor laws.

Under the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, it is a misdemeanor to serve liquor to “any obviously intoxicated person.” A first-time offender is subject to a 20-day liquor license suspension or a $1,500 fine.

Police are also approaching bar patrons, urging them to designate one person in their group as the driver who will not drink.

La Chasse said if they spot an intoxicated person, they will arrest him or her. So far, no such arrests have been made.

It is a misdemeanor under the state Penal Code to be “found in any public place under the influence of intoxicating liquor . . . in such a condition that he or she is unable to exercise care for his or her own safety or the safety of others.”

“We want bar patrons to know that there is heavy enforcement against potential drunk drivers,” La Chasse said.

Along with the bar inspection, police officers will step up street patrols in search of drunk drivers, the captain said.