Four Carson City deputies honored by DUI Taskforce

Four Carson City deputies were honored Wednesday night for their efforts in keeping Northern Nevada streets safe from impaired drivers.

The Northern Nevada DUI Taskforce honored law enforcement from agencies across the region from Reno Police Department to Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office for their work with DUI arrests and investigations, underage drinking enforcement and victim support at the 8th annual Northern Nevada Law Enforcement Awards at the Kerak Shrine.

“We wanted to focus on the DUI issue in the area and celebrate those who put their lives on the line to keep our roads safe in Northern Nevada,” said Laurel Stadler, regional coordinator for the taskforce. “They were all identified by their agency as leaders and role models in their agencies. They are dedicated to the goal of no new victims.”

Carson City Deputies Nick Simpson, Chris Rivera, Jarrod Adams and Dean Williams were all honored for their work in the Capitol city. Rivera won the Most DUI arrests in 2016-2017 award for the department with 29 arrests; Simpson won the Outstanding Effort in DUI with 28 DUI arrests; Adams and Williams won the Outstanding Effort in Underage Prevention award for their work in the schools, which works to educate students in the schools as well as conducts alcohol compliance checks in local businesses.

“It feels amazing to be honored,” Simpson said. “Every law enforcement knows that DUI investigations aren’t a 15-minute or even an hour-long investigation, it is multiple hours for a misdemeanor arrest. But being at this event and listening to the victims’ stories, it makes it all worth it, the hours spent on one misdemeanor arrest is more than worth it.”

The taskforce recognizes the law enforcement agents as a way to help keep the deputies motivated and show them their work is important and appreciated. And it’s not just the group that understands how important it is to keep drunk drivers off the streets, Reno Police Officer Thomas Alaksa was honored for his 3,000 career DUI arrests in 2017 — with more than 300 of those taking place just last year.

“Keep up the fight, keep up the effort, we have to do what we do so there are no new deaths,” Alaksa said.

In addition to the Carson deputies being honored, Stadler thanked the Carson City Department of Alternative Sentencing and Claudia Saavedra for their work with the DUI victim impact panels.

Jacky Eddy also spoke to the crowd about the importance of what they do, sharing the story of her interaction with law enforcement the night her daughter was killed by a drunk driver.

“He tried to stop what happened and kept apologizing that he couldn’t get there fast enough,” Eddy said. “But I just want you all to know that you matter to us and the job you do is dangerous, but what you do matters.”

In the end, friends, family and the community came together to thank and honor the three dozen officers for what they do to create a safer community.

“We want to thank you all for your part in our goal of no new victims,” Stadler said. “Each and every one plays a vital role in making the area safer no matter how big or small you think the efforts are, they are equally important.”