Law enforcement agencies team up

VW independent staff/submitted information

The 11th annual “Lights for Lives” is being called a successful operation, showing what can be accomplished by law enforcement working cooperatively in a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional effort.

In the spirit of collaboration, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, in conjunction with law enforcement agencies in northwest Ohio, including Williams, Fulton, Lucas, Defiance, Henry, Wood, Putnam, Paulding, Hancock, Van Wert, Allen, and Hardin Counties participated.

“Lights for Lives” is a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional, cooperative enforcement campaign focused on officers activating their overhead lights and stopping as many vehicles that committed traffic violations to save as many lives as possible. It began at 6 a.m. November 22, and ran through 6 a.m. November 24, kicking off the holiday driving season.

During the 48-hour operation officers reported stopping nearly 886 vehicles and issued 316 citations. There were 41 safety belt citations were issued, while 14 impaired drivers were removed from Ohio’s roadways. Further, there were over 40 criminal arrests including five felonies and misdemeanors while 13 involved drug arrests.