MoCo Police Department dissolves dedicated DUI enforcement unit due to staffing shortfalls

Officers currently in the Alcohol Initiatives Unit will be assigned elsewhere within department Montgomery County, Md., police cars sit in the parking lot at the Travelodge hotel in Silver Spring, Md., Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. Aaron Bushnell of San Antonio, an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force has died after he set … Montgomery County, Md., police cars sit … more > - The Washington Times - Saturday, August 29, 2026 The Montgomery County Police Department is shuttering its Alcohol Initiatives Unit so that its officers can make up staffing shortfalls within other parts of the department. Montgomery County Police Assistant Chief David McBain told WUSA-TV that the specialized anti-DUI enforcement unit was being axed due to lower staffing levels among sworn police officers. Officers from the Alcohol Initiatives Unit will be reassigned to the Centralized Traffic, Crisis Response, School Resources and Support Units, Mr. McBain told WUSA-TV. Previously, the unit was part of the Special Traffic Operations Section of the police department’s Traffic Operations Division, according to the department website. The department will be continuing its anti-DUI enforcement efforts by other means. Mr. McBain said in a statement that enforcing DUI laws will continue via “the Holiday Alcohol Task Force and the Summer Alcohol Task Force, as well as through the implementation of frequent alcohol enforcement saturation and checkpoint details to be staffed by MCPD and our regional partners,” according to WRC-TV. Story Topics Latest Video