ESCONDIDO: Police impound 72 vehicles at checkpoint

Numbers increasing as checkpoints continue

By CHRIS NICHOLS - Staff Writer | Saturday, November 22, 2008 9:33 PM PST

ESCONDIDO ---- Police impounded 72 vehicles ---- one of the highest totals in recent months ---- during a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint Friday night, an Escondido Police Department report states.

The total was much higher than two recent Escondido checkpoints, Nov. 10 and Oct. 25, where 33 and 45 vehicles were impounded, respectively.

The use of driver's license checkpoints has come under fire lately by North County civil rights groups, many from the Latino community. Many call them unjust and a ploy to inspect drivers' immigration status.

Roughly 200 people at a Nov. 15 demonstration at Grape Day Park protested the city's use of driver's license checkpoints. Other people have supported the department's use of the checkpoints, saying they help remove unsafe drivers from the road.

Friday's checkpoint ran from 6:30 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. Saturday at Valley Parkway and Juniper Street.

Of 1,832 vehicles screened, 110 were sent to a secondary checkpoint after drivers could not produce a license or appeared under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Three drivers were arrested for driving under the influence. One was arrested for possession of illegal drugs and another was arrested for a felony warrant, the report said.

Among the drivers of the 72 vehicles impounded, 68 did not have a license,19 did not have automobile insurance and eight had a suspended license.

Escondido police conduct the separate driver's license checkpoints (not necessarily targeted at DUI drivers) about twice a month.

Police officials maintain that both types of checkpoints bolster traffic safety, saying studies have linked unlicensed drivers to a greater percentage of traffic accidents.

Critics contend the license checkpoints are unjust and disproportionately affect working-class, immigrant Latinos, many of whom are ineligible under state law to get driver's licenses because of their status as illegal immigrants.

Contact staff writer Chris Nichols at (760) 740-5426 or cnichols@nctimes.com.

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