30/11/2022
After reading the Missouri Statutes on DWI/DUI's, I have come to the conclusion that I believe law enforcement that are out working grant (our tax dollars specifically used to target high risk crimes in our communities) around holiday seasons, looking for DWI's, should do their best to keep roadways safe. Officers working should as a group go over the statues and guidelines. They should have been given printed out copies of the statutes that they are specifically looking for to keep in their patrol vehicles with them.
Could law enforcement knowing the entirety of the statutes changed the outcome on a fourth time DWI driver that blew .211? Where the subject was charged and convicted with a Class B misdemeanor, never spend even a single day in jail and was given a less severe sentence than a first time offender? Instead the driver received a Suspended Imposition of Sentence (SIS), probation for two years-unsupervised while awaiting second time felony drug charges. This same driver was given a summons on both charges instead of deputies requesting and the courts issuing a warrant, while countless other citizens in this same county are given warrants with bail amounts of $2500.00 or more, most of whom are first time offenders. As a tax paying citizen I believe that if our tax dollars are going to be used the officers should be applying the law equally to insure these offenders can be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
I also believe these officers should concentrate on more areas than just the main highways, where most of the traffic is just driving through and not local. The grant money is meant to better our community, and not for Sally from North Kansas City on her way home from Branson. If our community is more concerned about the main highways than the secondary highways and backroads, maybe instead of sweeping it under the rug when a (former) police chief is found passed out drunk in their patrol car by highway patrol; the officers should be looking for local license plates instead of targeting pass through traffic. That would make a true impact in the safety of our community and use the law effectively to correct our local drivers who drink and endanger our families.
The country roads give out-of-towners the idea that once they turn off the asphalt and hit the gravel, they can crack open a cold one, throw the trash out the window, and start driving around half sh*t-faced all weekend long. To further complicate this, more and more ATV/UTVs with coolers full of alcohol strapped in the back are driving up and down these secondary highways unmarked, unlicensed, and uninsured putting all locals at a greater risk. When you combine the two of these intoxicated driving styles, add in the numerous amount of wildlife and farmers with their equipment, we are putting our children and our futures at risk.
And now in less than ten days, Missouri's amendment 3 legalizing recreational ma*****na will go into effect. As a citizen and a parent in this great state, all I can ask of my fellow Missourians is "What are we thinking? What is this going to leave our children?" Out of 119 Missouri counties only 17 counties actually voted in favor of this amendment; however, the large metropolitan areas were able to use their vast population difference to make changes directly to our Missouri Constitution that will only make an already unsafe drive anywhere in the state, worse. While I am sure several people would disagree with these thoughts, any substance that alters one's reaction and perception reflexes, increases the risk of everyone around them. Not just in the form of driving, but also in the way that essential and emergency workers could be impaired. How are guidelines on what is considered "too stoned" or "too high" going to be decided? How are we going to adequately test citizens pulled over who appear to be driving impaired when we have no standard in which to go by?
For more information:
MO Statues: http://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneChapter.aspx?chapter=577
MO Dept of Revenue (DMV): https://dor.mo.gov/driver-license/revocation-reinstatement/dwi.html
MO DWI Laws/Definitions: https://www.ncdd.com/missouri-dwi-laws
Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP):http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/Root/index.html
MO Govenor: https://governor.mo.gov/
MO Attorney General: https://ago.mo.gov/
MO Prosecutor Attorneys: https://www.prosecutors.mo.gov/
MO Sheriff's Assocation: https://mosheriffs.com/
BallotPedia (Elections Information): https://ballotpedia.org/Missouri_Amendment_3,_Marijuana_Legalization_Initiative_(2022)
*****na
