Austin Police Department enforces ‘no refusal’ policy for Super Bowl weekend

The Austin Police Department enforced a “no refusal” policy during Super Bowl weekend in an attempt to keep drunk drivers off the roads.

"We have a zero tolerance for drunk driving in the city of Austin,” Chief of Police Art Acevedo said. “We don't apologize for our very aggressive enforcement action and most importantly our aggressive ‘no refusal’ initiatives.”

The APD enforced this policy for the fourth straight year during Super Bowl weekend. From 7:30 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday, officers made 17 arrests. Of those 17, seven drivers agreed to a breath test. The others all refused, and as a result, they each had their blood drawn through a search warrant.

The APD enforces the “no refusal” policy for several big holidays and occasions. Crime analysts in the department continually track impaired driving trends for years at a time to decide when to enforce the policy. The number of arrests went down from 2013 to 2014 during Super Bowl Sunday.

For the 2013 Super Bowl, 12 arrested drivers refused a breath test. Six of these drivers tested above the legal limit after police received a search warrant.

Texas law requires drivers to take a blood or breath test if arrested for a DWI offense. Drivers give an “implied consent” when they apply to receive a driver’s license. They have the right to refuse, but the police department can use their refusal against them in court, which may result in a license suspension. Drivers cannot refuse, however, if they have previous DWI offenses, if a child under 15 rides in the backseat, or if the arrest involves an accident resulting in injury or death.

“The purpose of the no refusal is to encourage people not to drink and drive, and we inform them in advance via the media that we are having a no-refusal event,” Lt. Keith Walker said. “We hope that this causes people to either plan ahead to keep from driving, or to take an alternate form of transportation if they have been drinking.” Lt. Walker leads DWI enforcement at the APD.

“When a no-refusal weekend is region-wide, we participate as well,” University of Texas Police Department spokeswomen Cindy Posey said. The UTPD has a separate jurisdiction from the APD, but during these weekends, they use the same policies.

Other cities in Texas, such as San Antonio, enforce a “no refusal” policy year-round during the weekends. The advantages of enforcing this policy year-round include easier prosecution and stricter sentences, which reduce the likelihood of impaired drivers on the roads. However, several disadvantages exist, too. “More lab tests means it would be longer before results are available and it would increase the workload of the lab personnel,” Walker said. “This can be mitigated by using outside laboratories, but that of course is an increased cost.”

For now, the APD enforces “no refusal” weekends just six times per year. The APD first used this policy during Halloween in 2008 for the safety of children trick-or-treating in the streets. Crime analysts will continue to keep track of DWI arrests on “no refusal” weekends and look for patterns to determine the effectiveness of the policy. The APD’s main focus remains preventing people from drinking and driving.

Charlie Strong is changing the culture of Texas football

New coach Charlie Strong is laying down the law and ushering in a new era of Texas football. After meeting with the team for the first time on Jan. 12, Strong made his expectations and how he intends to run this program clear.

This new culture at Texas has already yielded some negative results, especially from a recruiting standpoint. The Longhorns have lost a large handful of highly touted recruits since Strong took the reigns of the program. Many high school seniors have decommitted from Texas and are looking at other schools, including Texas’ long-time rival Texas A&M. Linebacker Otaro Alaka, one of the Horns’ top recruits from Houston, Texas, made the switch from burnt orange to maroon this past Sunday. He is just one of many that have decided to decommit and take their talents elsewhere.

Texas lost three 4-star defensive tackle recruits within a single 24-hour period, including Zaycoven Henderson, who also plans to become an Aggie next season. Commits John Bonney and Garrett Gray took official visits to Baylor and California, respectively, which could be a sign of more trouble ahead for Strong’s Longhorns.

Despite all of the recruitment chaos that has come about since Strong took over the program, the coach has not changed his mind. “At end of the day, it's all about winning, it's about developing young people, and it's about doing it the right way,” Strong said. He believes that these strict new policies will make his young players better both on and off the field.

Strong’s 11 rules explicitly state his expectations for his players. The rules cover everything from basic restrictions, such as no drugs or guns, to specific demands. Strong wants his players to “all live together, eat together, suffer together, and hang out together.” He also expects them to sit in the front row at every class and take notes attentively.

Strong will run things differently than his predecessor Mack Brown, and he is not messing around. “He has completely changed the atmosphere,” wide receiver Tyler Marriott said. “The new coaches have come in and taken charge. We worked hard before, but now when we go to practice we have a more intense mentality,” Marriott said about the team’s daily spring workouts.

While coaching at Louisville, Strong imposed his will like he plans to do at Texas, and he turned a struggling program into a contender. He took the Cardinals to four consecutive bowl games and two 10-win seasons.

Strong served as a defensive assistant under Urban Meyer at the University of Florida before coaching at Louisville. In Gainesville, Strong witnessed the effects of Meyer’s laissez-faire attitude towards his players. Many young athletes ran into both academic and legal issues, including tight end Aaron Hernandez, who now is serving a prison sentence for murder.

Strong’s stringent regulations have had positive effects thus far on his current players. “The rules have already brought us closer together,” Marriott said. “Now that we are with each other all of the time, you can tell that there is a stronger sense of unity.”

The Longhorns still have plenty of practices before the official spring game on April 19. In that time, Strong will continue to preach his values to his players and officially begin the Charlie Strong era at Texas. “I don’t want to talk about things.  I’d rather do things. We just talked. Now it’s time to do,” Strong said.