Sedalia Police Make Multiple Arrests at Sobriety Checkpoint Over the Weekend

The Sedalia Police conducted their Sobriety Checkpoint on Saturday night (June 29). Traffic from Thompson Blvd. traveling to 16th Street was directed up to State Fair Boulevard where several police officers stopped the cars. The sobriety checkpoint lasted from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m.  As of 12:30 a.m. there were over 200 drivers that went through the checkpoint and there were five arrests made for various charges including driving under the influence, open container in the vehicle and driving while suspended. The full results are expected to be released this Wednesday.

Sedalia Police checked for a license and asked if the driver had anything to drink. If the driver did not have a license or appeared to be intoxicated, they were instructed to leave the vehicle and a police officer would drive the car to a parking location on the Missouri State Fairgrounds.  Sedalia Police had a headquarters set up with the help of Emergency Management and they would run checks on the drivers. Drunk drivers were made to walk the line in front of a camera. If they passed the field sobriety test, they were allowed to leave. If they did not pass the test, they were taken to the station.

Many of the officers believed that this checkpoint was not only to catch those driving under the influence, but also to help spread the message that drinking and driving should not be tolerated.

Sedalia Police do hope to conduct smaller versions of the Sobriety Checkpoint in the future. This was the second sobriety checkpoint they've conducted and they chose to do it in the same location as previously in order to train officers further and the layout made it easier to utilize the Missouri State Fairgrounds.