WASHINGTON — Maryland law enforcement leaders are urging state lawmakers to expand the use of ignition interlock requirements to help stop drunken driving.
They joined police officers on Wednesday who have been injured by drunk drivers to push a group of bills.
A measure before lawmakers would require all drunken drivers with blood alcohol contents of 0.08 or greater to have the ignition interlock devices. State law now requires them for those with a BAC of 0.15, nearly twice the legal limit for driving.
The bill is being called “Noah’s Law” because of the December death of Officer Noah Leotta. He was killed while working on a driving-under-the-influence assignment by a suspected drunken driver with two previous convictions.
“In the last three years, I’ve had 49 of my cops in Montgomery County alone hit by drunk drivers,” said Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger.
“The saddest thing about DUI collisions is that they’re 100 percent avoidable,” added La Plata Police Chief Carl Schinner.
Prince George’s County Police Officer Ponleu Le was nearly killed by a drunken driver in 2009, when he and his then-partner were on the scene of a fatal accident. He’s back on the job after suffering massive injuries.
“My forehead was ripped all the way down to my nose,” he told reporters on Wednesday. Remarking on the fact that the scars are not immediately visible, he joked that the doctors did a good job, saying, “They made me look pretty again.”
But that was just one of the injuries he sustained.
“My right lung collapsed. My aorta ruptured. My pelvis broke in a couple of places.” Pointing to his hip, he said, “I have a metal rod from here all the way down to my knee. It took me over a year to learn how to walk all over again.”
Le’s former partner, now-retired Corporal Brian Trice, was with Le the night of that crash in 2009. As he recalled the aftermath of the crash — and the sight of his partner whose chances for survival weren’t certain — Trice was overcome with emotion.
Trice, whose own injuries led to his retirement from the Prince George’s County Police, recalled walking down the hallway to see Le.
“I go down there, and see him hooked up to a ventilator and everything,” his voice broke and trailed off.
Trice said what made things worse was the outcome of the case involving the driver that struck Le. The driver was sentenced to one month in jail.
“For literally almost taking two officers’ lives.”
Officer Noah Leotta’s father Richard says he’s dedicating the rest of his life to fighting for tougher drunken driving laws.
“Nobody should have to watch their child take their last breath. And I did. That’s my last memory of him,” he said.
Twenty-five states have laws that require ignition interlocks for all offenders following any drunken-driving offense.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
