Over the course of four days, members of the Estevan Police Service (EPS) dealt with seven possible impaired driving instances with five of them leading to charges being laid for driving while impaired and driving while blood-alcohol content was over .08 per cent.
The first incident was recorded on April 18, when police checked a vehicle and learned the driver had been consuming alcohol. A 33-year-old Slave Lake, Alta. man was charged with impaired driving and now has a June court date in Estevan.
Later that same evening, police did another check on a vehicle that was stopped on the north side of the city. They discovered a couple of young males were in possession of marijuana so they were brought back to the police station where they were charged and given a youth court date in June.
The next night EPS members made two more arrests resulting in charges for impaired driving. The first was levied against a 35-year-old man after he was stopped due to his erratic driving actions. He has a May 27 court date.
The second arrest involved a 55-year-old man who was charged with impaired driving and driving while over .08 after police received a complaint of the man's driving actions around a local restaurant. The accused also had a passenger in his vehicle who was in an extremely intoxicated state, so he was arrested for being intoxicated in public and was lodged in cells until sober. The driver of the vehicle has been given a May 27 court date.
Another report of a possible impaired driver near the same restaurant was looked into, but police were unable to locate the vehicle in question.
On the night of April 20, police received a report of a possible impaired driver entering the city from the highway, but EPS members were unable to locate the vehicle described by the caller.
On the night of April 22, police were called to a four-vehicle accident on the northeast side of the city.
Upon arrival, EPS members learned that a vehicle had struck the back of a parked pickup truck. The vehicle then bounced off the truck and struck another vehicle that was parked in front of the truck, thereby pushing it into another parked vehicle.
When police arrived at the scene and talked with the driver, they detected the smell of alcohol so a breathalyzer test was administered followed by a second sample taken later and when both registered over the legal limit, the 22-year-old female driver was charged with driving while over .08 and impaired driving. She has a May 27 court date.
While on patrol later that night, EPS members stopped a vehicle due to the driver's erratic actions. Again a strong smell of alcohol was emitted from the vehicle, so two breathalyzer samples were collected resulting in charges being laid for driving while over .08 and impaired driving. Police also discovered that the driver had been suspended so his vehicle was seized for 30 days. He now has a May 27 court date.
In other police activity, police were required to look into a disturbance on the south side of the city on the night of April 19. The altercation occurred between two people, but they had left the area before police arrived. The other people who were still on the scene were warned about their behaviour and police learned that alcohol had been a factor in the altercation.
A man who was driving his vehicle in an erratic manner near the leisure centre was charged with stunting under the Traffic Safety Act on April 19.
A custody dispute that was reported to police on the night of April 19 was attended to by officers who advised the subjects that the incident was a civil case matter and they have been referred to the civil court for further action.
A hit and run incident involving a truck parked in the Pleasantdale area of the city is being investigated by EPS members.
Police also opened up an investigation into an incident at a local lounge following a report of a patron breaking a window.
EPS officers then attended to another lounge in the city in response to a report of an intoxicated man who was refusing to leave after being asked to do so by staff. When police arrived, they found the man outside the lounge in an extremely intoxicated state. He was arrested and lodged in cells for the evening and charged with being intoxicated in public.
A woman who was being harassed by a group of young people around a local convenience store was able to retreat from the incident, but the young people who had been involved were warned about their actions when police arrived on the scene.
A complaint regarding a vehicle being parked illegally in a handicap parking stall was recorded with police on the night of April 19. The complainant had asked the people who had parked in the stall to move the vehicle, but instead the illegal parking team became belligerent with the complainant and continued to refuse to move their vehicle.
As a result of the incident, police have charged the registered owner of the vehicle under the City's bylaw that refers to illegally parking in a handicap zone.
Police provided some assistance to an emergency medical response team that same night. Police were asked to attend the scene due to the intoxicated state of the subject who was being transferred to hospital.
The operator of a local taxi service attended to the police station later that night with a report that a man riding in his vehicle refused to get out and was belligerent when asked to depart the vehicle by the driver/operator.
When police intervened, they removed the subject from the car and provided him with an opportunity to make his way home on his own, but when the accused also refused to do that, he was arrested and lodged in cells for the night for his own safety.
A fight that broke out near a local lounge ended before police arrived on the night of April 19, but other people in the area were spoken to by police and then sent on their separate ways.
On April 20, police attended to a scene that involved two neighbours, a man and woman who were fighting. The man was warned about his actions and advised that if EPS members had to return to the scene, he would be arrested. It was believed that alcohol was a factor.
Police then responded to a report regarding a possible impaired driver near a local restaurant. When police arrived, they determined he was not impaired by alcohol, but they did find that he was in possession of a controlled substance so he was subsequently charged and has a May 27 court date.
Police then broke up a fight outside a local lounge, sending the people responsible for the fracas on their separate ways with no further action taken.
A man and woman who were involved in an argument outside a local hotel were spoken to by police and ended up going separate ways for the remainder of the evening.
Two men who walked into a drive-through entry at a local restaurant and began knocking on the window, startling the staff inside. Police spoke to the individuals involved and sent them on their way.
Two roommates who were arguing at a residence on the east side of the city were spoken to by police who discerned that alcohol had been a major contributing factor to the disagreement and no further action was required.
Police were next called to St. Joseph's Hospital where staff there were tending to a subject who was receiving medical attention following an assault incident. The subject was in an extremely intoxicated state. An investigation was opened into the matter and police noted the man was treated for significant facial injuries. EPS members subsequently arrested a 27-year-old man and charged him with assault causing bodily harm. Police noted that the investigation process took them several hours to complete and they had held the accused in custody pending his court appearance the next morning. Two other people were also arrested as a result of this same incident, but they were released later. EPS said they have still not completed the investigation.
