Wilmington Police Receive AAA Traffic Safety Awards

Photo Courtesy Wilmington Police Department: Lieutenant Daniel Murray

The Wilmington Police Department took home two awards this week from AAA’s annual Community Traffic Safety Awards ceremony. AAA Northeast sponsored the awards ceremony which was held at the Burlington Marriott on Dec. 15.

The Wilmington Police Department was awarded AAA’s Silver Award for our traffic and safety efforts over the past year. The Department was recognized for our efforts in combating dangerous driving behaviors as well as for the the educational and safety programs we conduct such as our weekly child seat checks and school bus safety training for children.

Lieutenant Daniel Murray received AAA’s “Traffic Safety Hero of the Year” award during the event. Lieutenant Murray was recognized for his role in planning and coordinating several multi-jurisdictional Traffic Saturation Patrols.

Since 2012, Lieutenant Murray has coordinated 11 such events with the primary intent of combating drunk driving and increasing motorist safety by enforcing speeding laws, texting violations, as well as enforcing seatbelt usage. Lieutenant Murray worked closely with the Massachusetts State Police, Tewksbury Police Department, Reading Police Department, Burlington Police Department and Woburn Police Department to coordinate efforts so that our traffic enforcement efforts were highly visible.

Six of these events were run in conjunction with Massachusetts State Police Sobriety Checkpoints in both Wilmington and Tewksbury. These saturation patrols along with the Sobriety Checkpoints sent a clear message to the motoring public that we will not tolerate individuals driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

As a result of the 11 Traffic Saturation Patrols coordinated by Lieutenant Murray, there were a total of 71 arrests made for individuals operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In addition, Officers & Troopers made another 64 arrests for other criminal violations & existing warrants, issued 1,352 civil motor vehicle citations, and issued 15 criminal summonses.

The Wilmington Police Department thanks Lieutenant Murray and all of our officers for their hard work in making the roads of Wilmington safer for everyone.