On the street with police at a DWI checkpoint
Published 12:10 am Sunday, April 13, 2025
- Drivers rolling up on the DWI checkpoint on Mooresville Road in Kannapolis Thursday night might have been a little unnerved, but no impaired drivers were snagged this night. Photo by Elisabeth Strillacci
KANNAPOLIS — This week in the Kannapolis Citizen Police Academy, we got a taste of what officers really do on the job, and admittedly, it was pretty cool.
Our class accompanied officers as they set up a DWI or driving while impaired checkpoint on Mooresville Road, and the BATmobile. Here in North Carolina, the “BATmobile” refers to the Breath Alcohol Testing (BAT) Mobile Unit Program, which is a fleet of specialized vehicles used by law enforcement for DWI processing and enforcement at events like checkpoints. These purpose-built vehicles are equipped to handle breath alcohol testing, magistrate’s offices and other necessary equipment for processing DWI arrests.
Years ago, the charge was known as DUI or driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, but that was at a time when alcohol was the primary issue. These days, it has been recognized that impairment that affects a person’s ability to safety operate a vehicle can be caused a number of different things.
When officers set up check points, there is a lot of planning involved and the one Thursday night involved officers from Concord police and the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office as well as Kannapolis officers.
Traffic is funneled in both directions down to one lane, with a separate lane blocked off for violators, drivers who are asked to pull to the side for a variety of reasons, but if they have you pull over, you’re likely getting some sort of citation for something.
Most drivers, even when they goofed and knew they were getting a ticket, were polite, and most were also nervous, understandably.
Officers were looking for a number of violations in addition to signs of impairment — expired licenses or registrations, excessive tint on windows, technical violations like unlit headlights or brake lights or missing lights on the license plates.
Different officers had different approaches, and some were slightly more lenient than others, but in all, not one driver was sent to the BATmobile for a breathalyzer test.
Which is considered a good night. Officers would in truth rather not catch anyone driving when they should not be.
The BATmobiles are actually operated, managed and maintained under the state’s Department of Public Health, and the staff member operating last night’s truck is a former Wyoming sheriff’s deputy who worked DWI enforcement for decades as well as teaching other officers how to run checkpoints and look for impaired driving. And he said he would always prefer a night with zero catches.
The truck includes, as noted, everything necessary for processing an impaired driver, which eases the burden on the officer, who otherwise may have to visit three or four separate locations with a violator. They start at the scene where they give a field sobriety test, then give a breathalyzer wherever the equipment is available, then have to take the person to a magistrate for processing and determination if they will be released or held and to get an assigned court date. Finally, if they are being held, the officer has to take them to the jail.
Instead of taking three or four hours for that whole process, having one of the trucks on scene means it can be completed in about an hour.
It was gratifying to see, among a few complainers, that most of the drivers thanked officers for what they do. It confirmed earlier comments in class from both Kannapolis Chief Terry Spry Spry and officers that the department has the support of the community.
However, one woman had to wait for someone to bring her a proper car seat for her child, and she was more than annoyed to find that even when the car seat was delivered, she was getting a ticket for improper restraint of a child. The officer explained the infraction had been committed, and he was glad it was addressed, but he couldn’t act as if it had not happened.
About an hour before the check point ended, a man in a van reached the officer who would ask for his license and registration, and for some reason, he jumped out of his vehicle and ran, abandoning the car and leaving his license behind.
Though they couldn’t be sure, a number of officers suspected the man may have feared it was an ICE checkpoint, something that every one of them said “isn’t happening around here.”
While they have sworn to uphold the law, and will do so, it was also reaffirming to see their compassion. The man’s van was towed from the scene and his wallet secured, but at the end of the night he had not been located.
While not the most dangerous of situations on an average day, officers still never know exactly who or what is coming up on them at a check point, and to see people pulling up with information in hand and a polite response to officers’ greetings was good to see.
