HENDERSON (KTNV) — Dozens of community members gathered at the Henderson Police Department on Sunday during the "Heroes & Handcuffs" ceremony.
15 local law enforcement officers in Clark County were honored for their work in preventing DUI crashes. The officers made more than 850 Driving Under the Influence arrests in 2022, according to an event spokesperson.
Along with officers, many family members of victims involved in deadly DUI crashes spoke at the event and held up framed pictures of their lost loved ones. One of them was Alma Rodriguez, who lost her husband due to a drunk driving crash in 2012.
"It's not easy when you have somebody who has been killed by a drunk driver," said Rodriguez. "Everything is different after that. In my case, my husband and I, we have four children. They needed their father."
Rodriguez has been an advocate in preventing DUI crashes ever since, also providing education classes in Spanish.
"A lot of people ask why I'm giving classes if it's not going to help me," said Rodriguez. "But I say 'maybe it's not going to help me, but it's going help other people.'"
Metro Police traffic intervention officer Mike Thiele said there have 10 deaths from DUI crashes so far this year in their jurisdiction.
Currently in Nevada, the legal Blood Alcohol Concentration level for drivers over 21 years old is .08 percent. DUI penalties could include having your license revoked for 90 days and spending up to six months in jail.
Thiele believes penalties for DUI should be stricter.
"I think we need to be stricter when it comes to DUIs," said Thiele. "There's too many times when people say 'it's just a DUI.' We need to get out of that mentality."
LVMPD also has a DUI intervention program which targets repeat offenders to find out someone drive under the influence regularly.
Along with officers and other community members, representatives from the Las Vegas Raiders were also present at the event on Sunday.
