Crookston Police Department patrol officer Sean Murphy received a DWI All-Star honorable mention from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety.
Murphy made a total of 48 impaired driving arrests from 2021 to 2022 and a total of 13 arrests so far in 2023. Murphy received a custom golf bag towel and a pin that can be put on his uniform as part of the nomination.
Patrol Sergeant Dacian Bienik nominated Murphy for the award. “You obtain the award through a nomination that came from within our department for the TZD, Towards Zero Death, coordinator,” said Murphy. “It was through efforts put into enforcing making arrests as far as impaired drivers go in the 2022 calendar year.”
The Towards Zero Deaths campaign is a program that is funded through the state of Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The goal is to create a culture for which traffic fatalities or no longer acceptable.
“They have a few regions set up throughout the state,” Murphy said. “Within that, they have coordinators that are signed to local jurisdictions and agencies throughout those regions that coordinate with the state. They set up grant-funded overtime shifts for different things like impaired driving enforcement, speed enforcement, hands-free, seat belt, those kinds of things.”
Impaired driving does not just involve alcohol. “One of the other things that we’re looking for when we interact with motorists on traffic stops is – are they under the influence of not just alcohol but controlled substances,” Murphy said. “So, things like methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and stuff of that nature that can impair an individual’s ability to operate a vehicle safely on the roadways.”
Murphy also added this program is a good way to keep the community safe and that his colleagues are doing a great job.
