Halloween emphasis patrol to ‘Surround the Sound’

This weekend, officers in Pierce County will be joining their counterparts from the other nine counties surrounding Puget Sound to conduct the fourth annual “Surround the Sound” law enforcement emphasis patrol. While they will be focusing on drinking drivers, they also will be looking for drivers who exceed the speed limit, fail to wear safety belts or commit other traffic violations.

Officers also are urging drivers to be particularly careful on Monday evening — Halloween — when many children are out trick-or-treating in neighborhoods.

The Pierce County emphasis patrol, hosted jointly by the Fife Police Department and the Washington State Patrol, will be dedicated to Andrew Lance, 42, who was killed Feb. 3 on Highway 101 as he headed for his job at the Westport Shipyard. He was hit head-on by a 24-year-old driver with a blood alcohol level two times the legal limit. The driver, who sustained minor injuries, was convicted of vehicular homicide and is serving a three-year prison sentence.

Fort Lewis will be conducting its own emphasis patrol the same night.

Also participating in the “Surround the Sound” effort will be officers in Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, King, Thurston, Mason, Kitsap, Jefferson and Clallam counties. The activity is coordinated by community DUI/Traffic Safety Task Forces and is supported by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.