KENOSHA, Wis. — A Kenosha Police officer is being recognized for her role in not only helping her department arrest drunk drivers but also making sure they’re prosecuted.
Bridgette Heid was nominated for Kenosha Police Department’s Outstanding Achievement Award for developing a standardized OWI training program.
A former Kenosha Police Drug Recognition Expert, Heid also received a letter of commendation from the City Attorney’s Office.
Officers were trained (many retrained) on traffic stops and investigations involving drunk or impaired drivers.
“It has to be exact,” Heid said. “It has to be by the state standards. And if officers aren’t following those exact standards it can open up to having your case fail.”
Heid said far too many times charges were dismissed due to technicalities.
“There have been some mistakes that shouldn’t be made that are being made,” Heid said. “Not intentionally. No officer wants their case to be dismissed because of a mistake. It’s a lot of work that goes into an investigation. We don’t want these drivers on the road because they’re dangerous.”
Kenosha Police Public Information Officer Josh Hecker said the department has benefited from Heid’s training.
“The work that Officer Heid has done has kind of brought officers back to the basics,” Hecker said.
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