New vehicle improves police checkpoints
By Cindy Yurth
Tséyi' Bureau
CHINLE, May 27, 2011
(Times photo - Cindy Yurth)
Navajo Nation Police Officer Harlan Cleveland demonstrates the outside lights on the new breath alcohol testing vehicle recently given to the NNPD by the BIA. The vehicle was unveiled May 11 at Chinle's annual Law Day.
They involve standing outside for hours in all kinds of weather, juggling equipment and paperwork, with only a squad car to retreat to during a lull.
At least, that was the case until May 13 on the Navajo Nation. Now, officers will be lined up to volunteer for checkpoint duty.
That was the day Officer Harlan Cleveland of Chinle picked up the BATV (breath alcohol testing vehicle). A gift from the BIA, it's a $350,000 modified recreational vehicle that will act as a DUI testing station, office for data entry and retrieval, temporary jail for offenders and comfortable shelter for officers - all in one.
The BATV last week was stationed at a checkpoint in Pi–on Chapter and then in Chinle.
Police stations all over the Navajo Nation can put in a request for it.
The BATV was unveiled to the public at the May 11 Law Day in Chinle, where hundreds of spectators braved a rainstorm to "ooh" and "aah" over its features and sit in its tiny holding cells and get a feel for what drunk drivers are going to face.
"This will make it a whole lot more comfortable and efficient to conduct checkpoints," said Cleveland, who scheduled the Pi–on checkpoint the day after the BATV arrived. Officers stayed out until 2 a.m. and stopped 600 vehicles, feeling far less fatigued than they did in the pre-BATV days, Cleveland said.
The BATV is one of only three "in the whole world," according to Cleveland. The other two are presently deployed in Albuquerque and the Dakotas.
In addition to a sophisticated Breathalyzer, the vehicle has satellite radio and 360-degree video surveillance, along with a microwave, refrigerator and coffee maker to sustain officers through a long night.
A video screen on its outside flank, protected by a retractable awning, is perfect for PowerPoint presentations and such.
It also is long enough to conduct field sobriety tests inside if the weather is bad outside.
So ... watch out, drunk drivers! The new, improved Navajo Nation checkpoints will be easy on the officers - but tougher on crime.