(La Porte County, IN) - The La Porte County Sheriff’s Office has posted mugshots of all of the people the department arrested for impaired driving in December.

 

Sheriff Ron Heeg said the monthly postings, which began a few years ago, are aimed at illustrating the work his officers have done to keep motorists as safe as possible. Other reasons include keeping impaired driving and the tragedies it can bring in the public spotlight so the issue does not start to get overlooked.

 

Heeg said he also hopes the program plays a role in keeping drivers sober and preventing impaired drivers from reoffending.

 

“These drivers are intoxicated. They cause crashes. They cause devastation.  They cause injury and it’s our job to get them off the streets,” he said.

 

Heeg also said he will not apologize to people critical of the program, who believe it is a “public shaming” of the individuals whose images have been posted on the Facebook page of the Sheriff’s Office.

 

“Our job is to get these individuals off the streets and that’s exactly what we’re doing. These people who want to complain and cry foul probably wouldn’t be crying foul to us if it was their loved one who was hurt or killed by a drunk driver,” he said.