Locking up DUIs — Officer recognized for drunk driver enforcement

Anyone who drinks and drives in Newcastle is more likely to be caught when officer Jacob Esposito is on duty. That is simply a fact, and the local officer was recognized on Jan. 6 by Police Chief Derek Thompson and Police Sergeant Nicholas Kaminski during a Newcastle City Council meeting for his success in DUI enforcement.

According to Thompson, Esposito had a total of 31 DUI arrests in 2024, significantly more than any other officer, although he admitted that not all were convicted. Thompson noted that, on average, other officers have three or four DUI arrests in a year.

Safety concerns

For several reasons, Esposito has developed a passion for keeping the community safe by taking drunken drivers off the streets, he told the News Letter Journal.

The first, he said, is the amount of drinking and driving he saw while in college.

“Everyone in college does it. You just see how unsafe it is,” he said.

The second reason came after Esposito decided to become a police officer. He told the News Letter Journal while he was a field training officer he was on duty with Kaminski when tragedy was an instant away.

“We were almost hit by a DUI on the bypass,” he said. “It was a big truck too, probably would have killed us.”

He noted that he was almost hit another time too.

“Then you drive around town, around the bars, and see scuff marks everywhere from cars hitting poles and walls. You realize these people aren’t safe drivers, and I don’t want anyone else to have to experience the loss of somebody because of a drunk driver,” Esposito said.

According to Thompson, drinking and driving has always been a problem in Newcastle, but its prevalence has usually gone in phases.

“Right now, it is probably trending down because he (Esposito) has made this many arrests,” he said. “Everyone knows about it, and when they are being safer, numbers go down until they get comfortable again, then they go up.”

According to Rich Adriaens, council facilitator with the Governor’s Council on Impaired Driving, “traffic/DUI enforcement is an immediate safety measure to help prevent fatal crashes.”

“DUI enforcement encourages people to seek a sober ride home and helps prevent other alcohol-related crimes from occurring,” he told the News Letter Journal. “85% to 100% of impaired crash fatalities in Wyoming are caused by high-risk offenders, defined as having over a 0.08 BAC, having a prior offense and/or having an additional substance onboard their system. About 34% of all Wyoming highway deaths involve impaired drivers.”

According to a 2023 report on alcohol and crime in Wyoming, roughly 35% of all arrests in Weston County are DUI arrests and roughly 41% of all arrests are alcohol involved.

How he does it

When asked if there were any tricks to getting so many DUI arrests in a year, Esposito said he doesn’t think he has anything to teach anybody. He noted that all officers have the skills to take drunken drivers off the streets.

Outside of training, Esposito said, he thinks the reason for his success in DUI enforcement is the fact that he isn’t scared to follow people for a bit longer than other officers do. He also said he is always on the move looking for people committing traffic violations.

“People get upset when you are behind them for a while, and I am willing to sit behind them for a half mile or so before I turn off,” Esposito said, noting that he recently had a DUI arrest that stemmed from a turn-signal violation.

According to Thompson, Esposito just has a knack for DUI enforcement.

“He probably makes more traffic stops, and he is probably a little more attentive to driving behaviors people impaired will exhibit,” he said. “There are two keys, having the training and knowledge to do it and then getting out there and trying hard. Not to say the other officers aren’t trying hard, everyone has an area of expertise.”

As for shift work playing a role, Thompson said that could have something to do with it because Esposito works more night shifts, but he said it is not the only reason.

Esposito, on the other hand, said that quite a few of his DUI arrests occurred during the day.

“Based on my observations …, I feel like there is a drunk driver on the road at any given time. Probably more at night when they think they can,” Esposito said. “We have a lot of professional drunks, people who handle it pretty well, and it takes quite a bit more to show. I think those professional drunks are who is driving during the day.”

Continued enforcement

Esposito said he has no plans on slowing down his DUI enforcement, even at the risk of being “that one officer.”

“People know me. I get told all the time who I am. … I don’t really care too much. DUI is one of those crimes I feel like a majority of people in a small town have committed one time or another. A lot of people have the mind-set that it is going to happen eventually,” Esposito said. “People don’t get super upset about DUI enforcement.”

He noted that there are just as many people on the other side of the issue that will appreciate his dedication to stopping people who are putting the general public in danger.

When asked if he would like to see other officers make as many DUI arrests in the future as Esposito, Thompson said that is a tough question to answer.

“I like to see officers proactive in areas, but I would like to see less. That means we are taking care of the problem. That is part of DUI enforcement, the deterrent effect of it,” Thompson said.