Officer Doesn't Know Why He is Good at Catching Drunk Drivers, But He Is

Officer Jeremy Trefry can remember quite a few experiences over the years that stand out to him, and many involved drunk drivers. Once, Trefry was nearly hit head on by a pickup truck on Church Street. He stopped the car, and was notified by dispatch that the state police had been getting calls about this very truck swerving all over I-290.

"If I remember correctly, the driver was going to Pelham, NH, from Worcester," said Trefry. "When I stopped him, he did not know where he was. He thought he was in Windham, NH."

Another time, Trefry responded to the Mass. DPW garage in Northborough during a snow storm. One of the (independent) plow drivers had shown up to work driving a ten-wheel dump truck. "He was so drunk," said Trefry," that he could barely stand and was planning on plowing snow all night in that condition."

Officer Trefry is an all-around good cop. But he's got a certain knack for catching drunk drivers.

MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) gives out an annual award called "Drive for Life," and Trefry has been honored in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 for making 30 arrests or more for operating under the influence.  And Trefry is a member of MADD's "Law Enforcement 100" for making more than 100 such arrests during his career.

"He is exceptionally adept at detecting and apprehending drunk drivers," said Chief Mark Leahy, "and I'm both proud of him and grateful for his outstanding efforts to keep our streets safe."

Why he has a knack for catching drunk drivers, Trefrey said he doesn't really know. He just chaulks it up to doing a good job, doing it well, and within that real gets a lot of drunk drivers off the street.

"I'm not sure if the police have gotten better at spotting drunk drivers," said Trefrey. "But, of course, the more arrests that get made, the more of a deterrent effect we will have on drunk driving, and as a result, that should lower car crashes caused by impaired drivers."

In general, Trefry will conduct a field sobriety test if he thinks the driver is impaired, at all. It can be triggered by the smell of alcohol, slurred speech or "any number of things."

Though like any town, Northborough gets its share of people driving under the influence, Trefry can't pinpoint any particularly troublesome times or areas in the town.

"Northborough, overall, is a very safe and quiet community," said Trefry. "The majority of people who get arrested in town are driving at the time and can be from anywhere."

A patrolman working for the Northborough Police Department since October, 2006, Trefry was previously a dispatcher in Harvard for four years and also a part-time police officer in Stow.

"I wanted to become a police officer because I grew up around police officers," said Trefry. "I had two relatives who were police officers — one in Stow and one in Boxborough. I was constantly around them and other members of the Stow and Boxborough police departments. The influence they had on me growing up made me want to be a police officer, as well."