Sheriff Speaks to Dui Enforcement Concerns
 | Author:
Linda Kent, MT43 News Staff Reporter
MT43 News Correspondent |
Sheriff Speaks to DUI Enforcement Concerns
Linda Kent
MT43 News Staff Reporter
Townsend City Council 07/02/2024
During his quarterly report to Townsend’s City Council July 2, Sheriff Nick Rauser addressed numerous concerns circulating through the local gossip mill and on area social media sites about perceived increases in driving under the influence (DUI) ticketing.
“I’ve heard some complaints – Why aren’t we giving locals breaks? Are we writing too many DUIs? – stuff like that,” Rauser to the council. “And I guess the answer to that is, yes, we write too many DUIs. But I gotta ask, who’s fault is it?”
Rauser said his officers issued 41 DUI tickets between April and June 2024 – 8 of those to Broadwater County residents. He added that, in conversations with the state attorney general, DUI cases are up 30-40 percent this year over 2023.
Responding to questions from the council following his presentation, Rauser said, “Talking about our numbers, this year, the blood alcohol levels we’ve seen back are insane to me. We’ve seen multiple where they’re point-threes [0.3 blood alcohol percent], a couple where they’re point-fours. Aggravated DUIs, where the blood alcohol percent point-one-six, is at least 80 to 90 percent are aggravated.” Montana’s legal limit is a BAC of 0.08 percent.
In explaining his rationale for not giving people “breaks” on DUIs, Rauser pointed to two recent incidents: A Townsend native and single mother killed on I-90 by a drunk driver earlier this year, as well as the drunk driver who allegedly drove directly into a Broadwater County deputy at over 100 miles per hour earlier this year.
“There have been multiple DUI stops on the south end of people trying to get on the exit the wrong way, at least four or five” Rauser continued. “When they catch them, everyone is a DUI.”
Referring to an NBC Montana news article from February, Rauser noted that Montana has the highest percentage in the nation of highway deaths per hundred thousand people: 7 per 100,000. He also spoke to the impact that responding to fatal crashes has on the first responders on the scene as well as to the grief and anger of the families.
Rauser went on to note that consistent enforcement protects both city and county governments from legal liability should an intoxicated driver be released without a ticket and then go on to cause harm or take a life behind the wheel.
