HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-06-16 Euless Articles DISTRIBUTED TO: /
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MAYOR CITYCOUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
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' NEWSPAPER .e q S `U
June 03, 2006
Mayors from Chicago and Euless touted for
making cities livable
' ASSOCIATED PRESS
' LAS VEGAS (AP) - Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Euless, Texas Mayor Mary Lib Saleh were
toasted Saturday at the U.S. Conference of Mayors with awards for leadership in making their cities
more livable.
tDaley was given an award for the Chicago Bicycle Program,
g Ywhich helped establish 100 miles of bike
lanes and 50 miles of off-street bike trails.
' Euless Mayor Saleh was awarded in the category f
g ry or cines with under 100,000 people for creating a
garbage composting education program called "Compost-ology."
' Thanks to thero am about 110 ton
p �' s of waste were diverted from the normal waste stream from
January to March last year compared to a year earlier, the conference said in a release.
' The cit of 53 000 took a state to grant of about $30,000 and gave away compost bins, thermometers and
worms to adults who took classes. The program quickly gained popularity as more and more people
' wanted to sign up, said Mayor Mary Lib Saleh.
' "We knew it was a good program, we had no idea it was this popular," Saleh said. "It's one of those
serendipities that you do and you say, 'Wow, we did something right."'
' The winners were chosen by three former mayors from*a pool of 250 applicants based on leadership,
creativity, innovation and broad impact on the quality of life for residents.
' Other awards went to Austin, Texas for an energy conservation program; Irvine, Calif. for a community
farm on weedy city land; and Lewiston, Maine for a tax education program that helped residents get
back more than $2 million since 2003, among others.
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DATE DISTRIBUTED ( � DATE OF ARTICLE 3 NEWSPAPER FWST
The problem could become more com- did not realize McManus,had '
LOW BLOOD SUGAR mon as the diabetes epidemic grows.An es- low blood sugar until paramed-
timated 20.8 million people in the U.S.suffer ics checked on him in the Eu-
from diabetes, and roughly 30 percent of less Jail,police said.He was re- ,
s them are undiagnosed, according to the leased without charges.
ne S American Diabetes Association. McManus declined to speak
During the past 20.years,obesity among about the altercation but*in a
Americans has surged to more than 30 per- previous interview with the '
population,leaving Star-Telegram said he was an-
cent of the pop gry at the way police handled
ook , more people at risk for the dis- the situation and had hired a
can ease,according to the latest da- er
la
to from the national Centers v'S' '
for Disease Control and Pre- ■On May 24,Grapevine po-
lice pepper-sprayed a 48-year-
vention. old Corinth man after motor '
Karen Witt-Moore, ed dia- ists called 911 when the mperilous tered nurse and certified dia-
betic educator at Baylor All was seen standing in the mid-
Saints of Freeport Parkway, olice
Saints Medical Center in Fort __- P _ _ police
__ t
Worth, said aggression is a said.The man jumped onto the
common symptom among dia- side of a tractor-trailer and beO police betics-'suffering from low gan to yell and bang on the pas-
blood sugar, also called hypo senger window with his fist so
glycemia. hard that the driver feared it
■Medical professionals urge diabetics "People can start losing would break,Sgt.Bob Murphy
to carry medical information so they can their common sense, and sen- said.
be helped more quickly if their blood sibility falls below what it Unable to calm him,officers
sugar drops dangerously low. should be," Witt-Moore said. sprayed him with one burst of
,It can change your personali- pepper spray, Murphy said. It
By MELISSA SANCHEZ ty,you can lose focus and you took two officers and a civilian
STAR-TUEcxAMSTAFF wxrx.ERF-,=> ,_.. can become rude or belliger- to wrestle the man into hand-
In recent months, area police have used ent.The lower your blood sug- cuffs, and police later found is
pepper spray and a Taser gun to subdue two ar goes, the worse the symp- box-cutter in his pocket and an
diabetics in separate incidents after the men toms et.g empty vial of glucose.About 30
became combative because of low blood
■On Feb. ll, Euless police minutes after he was given a
sugar. A third diabetic is accused of being sprayed a 37-year-old man once glucose tablet and ate lunch,
involved in a fatal accident. with pepper spray and stunned the man regained his senses.
Because the symptoms closely resemble him three times with a Taser He was not arrested.
those of being drunk or gun after he became hypogly- ■Last June in Fort Worth,a
high,it is very difficult for cemic in his car on the side of 31-year-old diabetic man ran a
police to tell the difference Texas 360 and Harwood Road.• red light in his Cadillac Esca-
until they find a medical According to police reports, lade and plowed into a car near
card or bracelet, or until a ;' Bryan McManus appeared in- Northeast 28th Street and In-
paramedic can test the pa- toxicated or drugged and be- terstate 35W, killing a 15-year-
tient's blood,Euless Assis- y9, came combative. Authorities old girl and injuring her moth-
tant Chief Harland West- —- - - er and two sisters. Witnesses
moreland said.
Until then, police must Bryan told police that they saw Leroy
make sure that diabetics McManus was Reber driving erratically be-
don't hurt themselves or Pepper-sprayed 7bloodsugar
of IoW fore the wreck.Reber said low .
others. and stunned blood sugar caused the acci-
"The problem that we with a Taser by n Sweating dent.
are faced with is that we
officers who The Fort Worth Fire Depart
■Shakiness
Depart-
thought he was ment frequently responds to
don't know what's causing >e Anxiety
Westmore- intoxicated. ey Confusion medical calls involving hypo- ,,,,i
the violence, emia,Lt.Kent Worley said.
land said. "All we know is 2 Difficulty speaking g 1.cY
that we have to intercede with their behave Uncooperative behavior Even if paramedics or police
ior.We are forced to use some level of force 5 Paleness
■Irritability ,
to control the situation....We are caught be- K Dizziness
tween a rock and a hard place." a Inability to swallow
a Seizure
E Loss of consciousness
SOURCE:American Diabetes Association
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MAYOR CITY COUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
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suspect that the person is dia-
betic, they must first subdue
' the person before trying to
treat the symptoms,he said.
The American Diabetes As-
sociation has developed a
training video and poster to
help raise awareness of symp-
toms and to help determine
' when someone has diabetes
and needs help.The poster and
video, which are available to
police, also have suggestions
' on how to avoid confrontation,
association spokeswoman Ra-
chel Morgan.said.
Diabetics who have aggres-
sive and combative episodes
often forget the incident after
their glucose level returns to
' normal, Witt-Moore said. She
advises all patients to carry a
medical bracelet or other in-
formation identifying them as
' diabetics. While it may not
stop them being forcefully sub-
dued by police,it will alert offi-
cers to their condition faster.
' "Not everyone wants to
wear a bracelet or medallion,"
she said."But carry something
identifying you as a diabetic so
' you can get the proper treat-
ment."
ONLINE:www diabetes.or
' Melissa Sanchez,817-685-3888
msanchez a@star-telegram.com
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MAYOR CITYCOUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
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THIS WEEK'S POLICE SCANNER
INSIDE THE POLICE SCANNER
Pit bull taken from Euless 'apartment
STAR-TELEGRAM
EULESS—Someone Burglar takes pit bull
wanted to start the dog days '
of summer just a little 121
early. –
A burglar kicked in the,
front door of a Euless apart- o
ment Wednesday and - Y
snatched a pit bull named a ,
Bruiser. w o
No other items were tak-
Mappedafea �.� � 1 •� .1.
. en in the burglary in the Fort" door 1 1' rr
1800 block of Airport Free w° ' 1 Monday
RI
took. 1it bull.
way,according to police, .8- =
Ieports. STAR-TELEGRAM
A 23-year-old woman told
police that she had left her
chocolate brown pit bull at Wednesday,the woman ports state.
her apartment while taking found her apartment door Fortunately for the bur-
her boyfriend on an errand open,reports state. glar,there were no signs of a
Tuesday night. Bruiser,who was valued struggle.
When she retturned.early at$2,500,was missing,re- —Domingo.Ramirez Jr.
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MAYOR CITY COUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
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DROUGHT
�
Dryrr�onths leave N. Texas
arched and Inlnpdor g
By BRYON OKADA
STAR TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER The wettest month? were in the hole for May,and
'
�5
5. Inches of rainfall,on we're expecting a drier-than-
An unusually dry April and average, during May. average summer."
May returned parts of North
Inches of rainfall during An average May, usually
Texas to moderate drought 1.J
' May 2006. North Texas' wettest month,
conditions, and the Metro- produces 5.15 inches of rain-
plex is once again below nor- 91 Inches of rainfall
mal rainfall levels for the y May ay during fall.
1999. This May the total was 1.90,
January, February and and North Texas' last really
March rainfall totals were ■North Texas monthly rainfall wet May was in 1999, when
above the 30-year monthly chart.10B 6.91 inches fell.
averages for Fort Worth,rais- ■Jet ski safety tips.106
' ing hopes that last year's ex- Center forecasts hot,The Climate Prediction
treme drought was over. got out of the last one," said weather through August,and
No such luck. meteorologist Dan Shoemak- a slew of triple-digit days
"The reservoirs never real- er with the National Weather could be just ahead.
ly filled up,so we never really Service in Fort Worth. "WeTarrant Regional Water Dis-
trict officials said that the wa-
Saving water ter supply is at 81 percent and
Most greater Northeast Tarrant County communities will continue that all reservoirs had below-
voluntary outdoor watering restrictions this summer because of the normal water elevations as of 8
region's prolonged drought.The recommended rules: a.m.Friday. .
Euless,Grapevine,Hurst,Keller and No outdoor watering between 10 a.m.' "If the drought stays on,we
Richland Hills and 6 p.m. could be seeing our supply di-
North Richland Hills and Watauga No outdoor watering between 10 a.m. minished to potentially as low
and 7 p.m. as 60 percent,"said Dave Mar-
Bedford,Coffeyville,Haltom City, No outdoor watering between 10 a.m. shall, engineering services di-
Haslet,Southlake and Westlake. and 6 p.m.Water lawns only every rector for the Tarrant Regional
five days.The days residents should Water District. "Typically,
water is based on the last digits in
w. their addresses.City Web sites have We'll see a 20-percent drop in
more information, the summer if it's drought."
Trophy Club No outdoor watering or irrigation That means the area's water
between 10 a.m.and 6 p.m.unless supply could be in real trouble
residents are handsoaking with a hose. if rainfall is below normal this
Flower Mound Town ordinance bans outdoor
watering from 10 a.m.to 6 p.m. fall or during spring next year.
between May 1 and Oct.1.
Fort Worth No landscape watering between 10 Bryon Okada,(817)390-7752
a.m.and 6 p.m.except for hand- okada@star-telegram.com
watering or soaker hoses fromnow -
through Sept.30.No irrigation or
other watering systems should be in
use while it is raining.
Roanoke No restrictions-
1 .
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AREA & STATE BRIEFS
Reward is offered
in deaths of ll ducks
EULESS—A reward of$2,500
is being offered for information
about the killer of 11 ducks that rri
were beheaded or had their necks
broken at a Euless golf course last
month,officials with the Humane
Society of the United States said
in a news release.
The ducks were found between
on the course and around a near-
by apartment complex on So-
togrande Boulevard,officials said.
Many of the ducks were female,
and their heads had been placed
beneath them by their eggs.
Call Euless police investigator
T.D.Burnett at 817-685-1556 if
you have information.
—Melissa SJnchez
r
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MAYOR CITYCOUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCAAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
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REGION BRIEFS
' Site of officer's
death gets marker
' GRAPEVINE—Family and
friends of policeman Darren
Medlin have placed a memorial
marker at the spot where Med-
lin was flit and killed by a
' drunken driver June 12,2004. .
The four-year police officer was
killed as he was standing beside
a Ford Mustang that he had
' pulled over on southbound
Texas 121 in Euless near the
Grapevine line.Medlin,34,was
the first Grapevine officer killed
' on duty.The driver,Roy Alvin
Adams Jr.,was'convicted in
August 2005 of intoxication
manslaughter and sentenced to
' 20 years in prison.Medlin's
widow,Gina Medlin,said her
late husband's cross is made of
cedar.
' Ben Tinsley
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TARRANT COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH
How it is that di"Rer?,
Go onlinn to find -ou
By BRYON OKADA information," Environmental typically get inspected twice each
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER Health Manager David Jefferson year, unless thdy are prone to
Tarrant County Public Health's said. "But instead of walking into health violations or specialize in
restaurant inspection scores for 31 an office and saying,`Let me see it, food that requires special han-
cities and Dallas/Fort Worth Air- please,' now all they're doing is dling,officials said.
port are now available online, going online." "I think this is terrific," said
making it easier for the public to The county is making the res- Becky Henry, co-owner of Hot
get the information. taurant scores available for the Chocolates in Hurst, which has
County officials hope that by cities they inspect,Jefferson said. enjoyed a string of perfect inspec-
putting the information on the In- Some cities—Fort Worth,Arling tions. "North Richland Hills is-
ternet, residents -can avoid the ton, Euless, North Richland Hills sues certificates that you can hang
hassle of making official requests — do their own inspections, so in your window,. but Tarrant.
to most cities in order to obtain that information must be obtained County hasn't had anything like
the inspection scores. through the cities. that,so this is a way for everyone
"This has always been public Restaurants in Tarrant County- to know how you did."
Restaurant scores
N Tarrant County Public Health inspects restaurants in the
following cities:Azle,Bedford,Benbrook,Blue Mound,Burle-
son,Colleyville,Crowley,Dalworthington Gardens,Edgecliff
Village,Everman,Forest Hill,Grapevine,Haltom City,Haslet,
Hurst,Keller,Kennedale,Lakeside,Lake Worth,Mansfield,
Pantego,Pelican Bay,Richland Hills,River Oaks,Saginaw,
Sansom Park,Southlake,Watauga,Westlake,Westworth Vil-
lage and White Settlement,and at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.
9 For scores,go to health.tarrantcounty.com or call
817-321-4960.
•Fort Worth inspections:www.fortworthgov.org/health/
•Arlington inspections:www.ci.arlington.tx.us/health/
•Euless inspections:Call 817-685-1625
•North Richland Hills inspections:Make an open records
request to the city secretary at www.nrhtx.com.
Mai
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MAYOR CITY COUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
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' ENVIRONMENT
1
City wins
award
for `co -most olo
p C�
' BY TERRY LEE GOODRICH Eulepopulation 53,000,
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER distributess,d composting bins,'
EULESS—The city's"com- *workbooks, composting ther-
post-ology" program, which mometers and spray bottles to
' aided Euless residents in build- residents and students during
ing home compost'piles of, free workshops and school
grass, twigs and food scraps, events,said Lori De La Cruz,an
has earned the Municipal Liv- environmental consultant
ability Award for cities with hired by the city to oversee the
fewer than.100,000 residents program.The city also distrib-
from the U.S. Conference of uted more than 100 pounds of
' Mayors. red wiggler worms,which feed
Mayor Mary Lib Saleh was on organic material and pro
recognized Tuesday night by duce waste that can be used to
the City Council for her leader- enrich soil.
' ship of the effort. The an- The program was financed
nouncement was made at the through a $32,000 grant from
1,180-member organization's the North Central Texas Coun-
' conference June 3 in Las Vegas. cil of Governments and$6,706
Chicago won in the category of from city funds and contribu-
100,000 or more residents. tions.
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MILITARY
Army omeer from Euless
lolled in eo ter landingp
THE ASSOCIATED PMS ` the base hospital.
The Army .released the Fort Campbell spokeswom-
name of an officer from Texas an Cathy Gramling said that
who was killed while exiting a the cause of death has not been
helicopter after an emergency released and that the incident
landing in Tennessee just out- is still under investigation.Lo-
side Fort Campbell,but it is not cal fire rescue workers who re-
offering new details on how he sponded to the incident told t
died. The Leaf-Chronicle newspaper
The soldier was identified in Clarksville that the soldier
Tuesday as 1st Lt. Landon R. was struck by the main rotor
Casillas, 26, of Euless. He was blades. Gramling said she had
an aeromedical evacuation of- heard those reports, but she
ficer assigned to the 50th Med- had not confirmed them offi-
ical Company, 159th Aviation cially with investigators.
Brigade. Casillas joined the Army in
Casillas died Friday after a July 2004 and arrived at Fort
UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter Campbell in October 2005.He
made a "precautionary land- is survived by his wife,Jessica,
ing'at a Clarksville,Tenn.,air- and daughter,Arle,both of Fort WA
port when a warning light Campbell, and -his parents,
came on. The,other four sol- Richard and May Casillas'of
diers on board were treated at Euless.
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MAYOR CITY COUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
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NEWSPAPER FWST
'NORTHEAST AFTER
HOURS
t Starlight's last play .-
EULESS-The final Starlight•�.
rforming Arts production,The
~Legend of Pocahontas,will open at.,
8 p.m:Friday at the theater,201 S:_
Ector Drive.
Showtimes through June 25
are 8-p.m.Fridays;Saturday and
' Monday,and 2 P.M.Sundays.Tick'•
ets cost$9 and$11.
The comedy,based on the
American legend but with a few
' fun additions,marks the directorial.
debut of Lacey Smith.This chil-
dren's production will mark the end
of four years of live theater at the--
Euless venue,which will close this
' summer_817-508-9101. -
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CRIME
KELLER GRAPEVINE
176DWI arrests 7 .>
DWI arrests DWI arrests
in 2000. in 2000.
384 Soar 1 340'
DWI arrests DWI arrests
in 2005. Keller, in 2005. .r
The city has cracked down on drunken drivers
designating a full-time officer to look for them
� g
By BEN TINSLEY WHAT DO YOU THINK? Keller is focusing on the problem and
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER Post a comment on this report at that its decision to designate a full
KELLER—Police officers hope www.star-telegram.com time officer to patrol for DWIs is
the spectacle of drunken drivers be-
P � paying off.
ing pulled over and arrested will send •Breakdown of DWI arrests for six Officers trained in spotting Northeast Tarrant County cities.15B drunk
e
a warning to other intoxicated motor- en drivers help bolster arrests be-
ists to stay out of Keller. for several other Northeast Tarrant cause they can spot intoxicated pe07 Will
. In a span of six years,Keller offi- County police departments have ple a lot more quickly than other
cers have more than doubled the gone down. officers,said Tarrant County Assis
number of people arrested annually At first glance it might seem that tant District Attorney Richard Alpert,
in their city and in Westlake who more DWI arrests mean the drunken chief of the misdemeanor section. ..r
allegedly drove while intoxicated. driving problem is getting worse.But "Keller has certainly been aggres-
During the same time,the numbers experts say it's an indication that
_. .r
DWI arrests
Driving.while intoxicated arrests in select Tarrant County cities from 2000 WA
to 2005.
Keller/Westlake NRH Bedford Colleyville Grapevine Euless
Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.
36,350/700 63,500 48,600 21,720 45,600 52,900 .011
YOQO 17b 294 2Sa 95 387 Adq .
2001 193- 380 277- 90 377 258
. '279 438 243 t�3
2003 284 - 359 267 54 413 404
d 4t13 392 2t9, 33 3t34 &
2005 384 324 169 49 340 426
SQIJRCES:Keller,North Richland Hills,Bedford,colleyville,Grapevine and Euless police departments
STAR TELEGRAM
will
MI�
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�MAYOR CITY COUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
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DATE DISTRIBUTED /9 ZZ60(e DATE OF ARTICLE NEWSPAPER FW
ST
sive in their DWI enforce-
ment,"Alpert said.`They've "It's surprising,but this June 12,2004.The driver,Roy
really stepped it up.,, guy is definitely 0.05—below Alvin Adams Jr.of Bedford,
' The Keller department's the limit,"Berry said.The was sentenced to 12 '/z years
DWI arrests increased from legal limit for Texas drivers is in prison after a jury convict-
176 in 2000 to 384 in 2005, 0.08• ed him of into;dcation man-
officials said. Berry,who drives about 150 slaughter.
Last year,Keller's arrests miles a shift,said he expects Grapevine police want to
outnumbered those in the the number of DWI arrests to bolster their patrol staff be-
larger communities of North keep going up during the fore hiring another DWI offi-
Richland Hills,Bedford and summer heat and as the num- cer,Dearing said.
Grapevine,a_pd were behind ber of places that serve alco- Conversely,some cities,
only Euless,Which also con- hol in Keller grows. such as North Richland Hills
centrate,%.on keeping drunks The Euless and' Bedford: —population 63,500—don't off the road,according to police departments fight hire specialty DWI officers
information from the depart- drunken driving by using state because they prefer to spend
ments. grants that pay overtime for their resources on regular
Euless has no full-'time officers willing to patrol for patrol officers.
officers exclusively for DWIs DWI-related crime,said Eu- "We're just trying to main-
but has two traffic officers less police Lt.Steve Kockos tain the officers we've got,"
who patrol at night and keep a and Bedford police U.Kirk said North Richland Hills
particularly close eye out for Roberts. police,spokesman Larry Ir-
DWIs,said Euless police Sgt. Euless officer Scott Mor- ving.,
Ron Williamson. gan,who regularly works Medlin's widow,Gina Med-
From 2001 to 2005,DWI overtime on DWI patrol,takes lin,said North Texas cities—
' arrests in Euless rose sharply, a.dim view of drunken driv- even those without DWI offi-
from 258 to 426. ers. cers—are working hard to
Keller police serve their "It's my job to get them off keep drunken drivers off the
city's 36,350 residents,along the street,"Morgan said. road.
' with 700 in Westlake,which "They've made a mistake and "I think more DWI officers
contracts with Keller for po- are putting themselves and out there are a good idea"
lice services.Euless has everyone around them in said Medlin,who has become
52,900 residents. danger. involved in DWI education
' Keller DWI officer Craig Grapevine has one full- since her husband's death and j
Berry patrols late at night, time DWI officer but is bud- is an advocate for enforce-
looking for erratic driving geted for two,Grapevine po- ment."But I also understand
behavior and listening for the lice Sgt.Todd Dearing said. the'costs and expense to put
' "blips"that indicate his scan- The second slot was occupied people though the training."
ner is picking up someone by Grapevine patrol officer
driving over the speed limit. Darren Medlin,who was hit
and killed b Ben Tinsley,817-685-3821'
Policing DWIs can be y a drunken driver btinsley@star-telegram.com
tricky work,experts say.Many
bad drivers are not legally
intoxicated.
Berry stopped a man about
1:30 a.m.June 8 on westbound
Wall-Price Road after the
driver failed to dim his brights
' to accommodate other driv-
ers,was slow to respond to a
green light and failed to signal
left turn.
But the manpassed the
lood alcohol test Berry ad-
inistered,so Berry let him
' with a verbal warning.