MADD honors girl, cop in the fight against DWI
A Glen Cove schoolgirl who called police after spotting a man stumbling out of a bar and into a vehicle, as well as a Suffolk cop who made three separate drunken driving arrests during a single tour, were among more than 100 people who got awards yesterday at a Mothers Against Drunk Driving law enforcement luncheon in Lindenhurst.
With many of the cops still wearing black mourning bands over their badges in honor of Glen Ciano, a fellow officer killed last month in Commack by a suspected drunken driver, officers representing agencies from the East End to westernmost Nassau County listened as prosecutors and MADD's Long Island affiliate urged vigilance against driving under the influence on Long Island.
"Together, we all in the room have a common mission - and that is to do everything we can, use every tool available in order to stop the devastation, the devastating injuries, the deaths that we are seeing on our roadways," said Suffolk District Attorney Thomas J. Spota.
Two of the success stories spotlighted at the luncheon were those of the schoolgirl, Samantha Smith, 11, and Suffolk Sgt. Jeffrey Walker of the Third Precinct.
Samantha was going home from Robert M. Finley Middle School last fall when she and her mom saw the man stagger from the bar to the vehicle.
"He couldn't even get the keys inside the lock," she said of the man.
Samantha took out a notebook from her book bag and jotted down enough information about the vehicle to lead to an arrest of a man who police say had a .24 percent blood-alcohol content.
At the same ceremony Walker received an award for locking up three suspected drunken drivers - in Brentwood, in Central Islip and in Kings Park - during one eight-hour shift in December.
The luncheon, held at Chateau La Mer in Lindenhurst, was MADD's Long Island affiliate's third annual for law enforcement. The group lobbies government, runs anti-drunken-driving panels and represents families of people killed in alcohol-involved crashes.
The catering hall donated the luncheon to the group, said MADD's Kristyn Hovanec, a development officer.
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