LA PORTE, Texas – Several law enforcement agencies are taking part in the "No Refusal" initiative this weekend, bringing in extra officers and deputies along with judges and nurses to catch impaired drivers.
Starting Saturday night at 10 p.m., Precinct 8 will team up with La Porte, Pasadena, Webster　and several other police departments for a drunk-driving crackdown. The effort will go until 6 a.m. Sunday.
Anyone arrested for drunk driving in southeast Harris County will be taken to the La Porte Police Department. They will then be processed, booked and forced to either take a breathalyzer test or have their blood drawn.
"I wish tomorrow I could report to you that we made no arrests, but that’s not going to happen," Sandlin said.
Statistics show Texas leads the nation in alcohol-related deaths from automobile accidents. In 2008, alcohol was involved in nearly half of the year’s deadly accidents. That’s a big reason why hundreds of deputies and officers will be out Saturday looking to put offenders on camera.
"Everything is being recorded from the time that the DWI driver is detected all the way until he is arrested," Sandlin said.
That video, along with the breath or blood samples, will become evidence used to incriminate.
People caught drinking and driving can expect to pay a hefty amount, as the average DWI arrest with attorneys’ fees can cost up to $10,000.
