Hingham Police Awarded For Drunk Driving Enforcement

along with four of its officers received awards for their commitment to enforce drunk driving laws at the annual Drive for Life law enforcement recognition breakfast held in Devens, MA on May 23.

MADD Massachusetts honored Officer Joel Salituri, Daniel Leary, Justin Burns, and Ryan Ross. 

Salituri received MADD’s highest award, The Law Enforcement Drive for Life Award while  Leary,  Burns, and  Ross were presented with MADD’s Hero Awards. The officers were selected based on their enforcement efforts throughout 2011.

All four officers are trained in A.R.I.D.E. (Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement) through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Officers Burns and Salituri just completed extensive training to become D.R.E. (Drug Recognition Experts).

The Hingham Police was also presented with a Department Award, specifically for their OUI Saturation patrols and participation in Sobriety Checkpoints working with the State Police. Only three other municipal departments in Massachusetts received the Department award.

“Keeping our roads safe is dangerous and thankless work,” said David Deluliis, Program Manager of MADD. “We consider the men and women of law enforcement everyday heroes and it is our honor to recognize the Hingham Police Department and say thank you for their commitment to enforcing our impaired driving laws.”

According to MADD, annually there are between 16,000 -17,000 operating under the influence (OUI) arrests in Massachusetts every year, averaging out to nearly 44 drunk driving arrests per day.

“There are no statistics to prove how many injuries and deaths these officers prevent every time they take an impaired driver off the road” said Traffic Sgt. Steven Dearth.

The featured guest speaker for this year's breakfast was Marshfield resident Ron Bersani. He is the grandfather of Melanie Powell for whom the landmark 2005 "Melanie's Law" was named after and the driving force behind the legislation.

The Hingham Police have worked closely with Mr. Bersani on outreach and speaking presentations, including on presentations for the Citizen Police Academy classes and press conferences.

-Hingham Police