South Bay : Drunk Drivers Targeted

Nine local law enforcement agencies will combine forces Friday and begin a 10-day attack on drunk driving during the holidays.

The agencies will use seven cars in a target area between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. daily to arrest intoxicated drivers, said Sgt. Bill Sapp of the Manhattan Beach Police Department. Police will target a different area each night, he said.

This is the third year the task force has been formed in attempt to reduce the number of alcohol-related accidents, Sapp said. Last year, the officers arrested 68 people for drunk driving.

Besides Manhattan Beach, the agencies involved are the California Highway Patrol, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (which includes Lawndale and Lennox) and the El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood and Redondo Beach police departments.