CARIBOU, Maine — Caribou police recently announced plans to set up a roadblock at various locations in the city on Saturday night.
Police Chief Michael Gahagan said officers will primarily focus on safety and will be “making sure seat belts are on and that vehicles are registered and inspected.”
“Five officers, one supervisor, and at least two cruisers” will be involved in creating the checkpoint, which will be moved from one road to another throughout the night in case “word gets out that we’re in one particular location,” the chief said.
While the department is not indicating exactly where the checkpoint will be set up, Gahagan did issue a notification as a preventative measure to help the public “realize law enforcement is out there and we’re trying to make the roads as safe as we can.”
“We’re actually broadcasting this,” Gahagan said. “We’re not hiding anything or setting anyone up. This is about as transparent as you can get.”
The chief added that while intoxicated drivers are not the focal point of the checkpoint, a third cruiser will be present to transport any visibly impaired drivers back to the station.
Police plan to start at 10 p.m., and will park cruisers with flashing lights on either side of the selected road, stopping all traffic and conducting safety checks, moving roughly once an hour as the night goes on.
The checkpoint is funded by the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety, and will be part of the agency’s 2017 Evidence Based Impaired Driving High Visibility Enforcement Campaign.
The chief said the Caribou Police Department receives funding from the organization to help enforce OUI, seat belt, and distracted driving laws. Gahagan could not say exactly how much total funding the department received from the Bureau of Highway Safety, or how much would be used for the upcoming checkpoint.
“We get some for distracted driving, some for OUIs, and some for seatbelt violations,” Gahagan said, “so it’s hard to say how much will be used from each funding slot.”
Moving forward, Gahagan said Caribou police may do a joint detail with members of the Maine State Police, Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office or Presque Isle Police Department at some point later this year.
“We’re appreciative that Highway Safety has given us the extra funding to help us with these details,” Gahagan said.
