Smyrna DUI Arrests Rise During Super Bowl Weekend

SMYRNA, GA — Police say they arrested 18 people on charges of driving under the influence during the recent Super Bowl weekend in Smyrna, reportedly seeing an uptick in such arrests.

The Seattle Seahawks pummeled the New England Patriots, 29-13, as Smyrna drivers were on the roads celebrating the NFL's most popular weekend.

Smyrna Police Lt. Meredith Holt told WAGA-TV the local department normally make around one or two arrests on a Sunday - about four or five during the span of a weekend. Eighteen arrests is reportedly five more than usual for the department.

"Some of our officers were quick to point out that’s more points than the Patriots scored during the Super Bowl game ... but all jokes aside, every one of those stops helped keep our roads and community safe," Smyrna Police said in a Facebook post published Monday.

Officers did not plan DUI checkpoints, and they did not target a particular area, the report stated. They simply expanded traffic enforcement.

"We've been doing a lot of training recently for DUIs to make sure our guys are trained in field evaluations," Holt said in the report. "We didn't plan any type of operation for that. That is something our uniform patrol decided to do with our DUI Task Force."

Police encouraged residents to "drive sober and stay alert."