Greendale Police Officer Named Traffic Safety All-Star

the Traffic Safety All-Star awards program was created by ICJI as a way to recognize officers who strive to stop impaired driving.

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(INDIANAPOLIS) – A Greendale Police Officer has been recognized for working to save lives and put a stop to impaired driving.

Austin Boggs was one of 65 police officers from around Indiana to be named a Traffic Safety All-Star.

Now in its second year, the Traffic Safety All-Star awards program was created by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. To be a Traffic Safety All-Star, an officer must have made at least 20 OWI arrests during the previous year and participated in one of the state’s targeted enforcement campaigns, such as Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.

For Boggs, he made 44 DUI arrests in 2020.

Now until Labor Day, more than 200 police agencies throughout the state will be increasing patrols and cracking down on drunk driving, which claims the lives of more than 10,000 people every year in the U.S. That’s approximately one person every 52 minutes or 28 per day, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In Indiana, drunk driving has been on the rise. Of the 898 traffic fatalities that occurred last year in the state, 151, or 17 percent, were alcohol related. That’s up from 130 in 2019. During Labor Day weekend alone, there were 12 fatal collisions with one involving a driver over the legal limit.

For more information, visit CJI: Traffic Safety: Traffic Safety All-Stars (in.gov).