Police Sobriety Checkpoint Catches DUIs, Marijuana Posession

Been noticing the police out and about more? You're not imagining things. Police from Newtown and neighboring towns have operated several checkpoints across town in recent weeks, as part of a grant from the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

Last weekend, on the night before graduation, police set up a sobriety checkpoint on Hawleyville Road at Covered Bridge. For eight hours -- from 7 p.m. June 21 to 3 a.m. June 22 -- eight officers and a supervisor checked both lanes of traffic, stopping about 600 drivers and speaking with them individually.

The results, according to police: two arrests for DUI, two for possession of marijuana, one for driving without a seatbelt and one for driving without a license.

It wasn't the first such action. In late May, police from Newtown and neighboring towns set up a checkpoint to nab un-seatbelted drivers, finding nearly as many drivers using cell phones. The campaign was part of the national "Click It Or Ticket" program, which ran from May 20 to June 2.

A third checkpoint ran Monday afternoon -- specifically to check for cell phone use -- at several interstate exits in Newtown, including police from Bethel, Brookfield and other neighboring towns. Police say results from that checkpoint will be released tomorrow, and we'll have them here when they are.

Drivers who talk or text can expect substantial fines: $125 on the first offense, with amounts increasing after that.

Saturday's checkpoint was held under the Connecticut Department of Transportation's highway safety grant, according to police, which reimburses the town for 75% of overtime costs.