SDPD Disbands DUI Unit

The San Diego Police Department disbanded its attrition-depleted DUI Enforcement Team on Tuesday, transferring the four remaining officers and one sergeant to the Traffic Division.

The change, which had been under discussion for several weeks, was not expected to lead to "a decrease in the level or quality of DUI arrests," SDPD public-affairs Lt. Andra Brown said.

In their revised positions, the five reassigned personnel "will still be available to arrest those suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, as well as investigate collisions involving drivers (suspected of being) under the influence," according to Brown.

"Currently, the vast majority of DUI arrests are made by officers assigned to Traffic Division and the nine patrol divisions throughout the city," Brown said. "Grant-funded DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols will continue to provide public education regarding the dangers of driving under the influence."

The decision to disband the special DUI unit had "nothing to do with" recent scandals involving two of its members, according to Brown.

Former SDPD Officer Anthony Arevalos was sentenced on Feb. 10 to nearly nine years in state prison and ordered to register as a sex offender for life for sexually assaulting women he stopped in the Gaslamp District on suspicion of drunken driving and other traffic offenses.

Arevalos' former supervisor, SDPD Sgt. Kevin Friedman, resigned one week later amid ticket-fixing accusations. Friedman, who had been with the department for nearly 27 years, faces misdemeanor charges.

-City News Service