OWI Taskforce enforces sober driving during St. Patrick’s Day

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - The OWI Taskforce, made up of multiple Brown County law enforcement agencies, will be deployed from Friday, March 17, 2023, from 7:00 p.m. to Saturday, March 18, 2023, at 3:00 a.m.

This is to monitor for signs of impaired driving and arrest anyone suspected of operating while intoxicated on St. Patrick’s Day.

”As the day goes on and the drinking continues that’s when we see the most intoxicated drivers out on the road. We’re still going to have our normal patrol contingent and officers out there still looking but we’re going to focus the greater efforts during that time period,” Captain Clint Beguhn with the Green Bay Police Department said.

Captain Beguhn said everyone knows St. Patrick’s Day is a day for people to go out and have fun, but it’s also associated with a lot of drinking. He said there will be extra patrol out specifically looking for intoxicated drivers to keep the streets safe.

“It’s a county-wide contingent so there’s going to be representatives from almost every local law enforcement agency are going to be out tonight (Friday),” Captain Beguhn said. “I know that we (Green Bay Police Department) have at least four extras and then our addition patrol.”

While he hopes everyone going out has a great time, Captain Beguhn said to be responsible, obey the laws, and have a planned way to get home. He said if you are drinking more than you should have, make sure to have a designated driver or call a cab or Uber.

Captain Beguhn said he and the department hope they don’t have to come knocking on someone’s door in the middle of the night to tell them they lost a loved one to a crash.

“That’s the worst thing is you know all these accidents, a lot of times we just get property damage,” Captain Beguhn said. “A lot of times we get injuries that can affect people’s lives or unfortunately someone will lose a life and that’s the saddest thing. None of us wants to go and knock on the door in the middle of the night to then tell someone that they lost their mom, their dad, their sister, or their brother.”

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