A former Cove High School student selected as DUII Enforcement Deputy
By Paul Hall on Thursday, September 9th, 2021 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
COVE, OR – Sheriff Svenson of Yamhill County is proud to announce that a former student of Cove High School, David Mills was selected as the 2020 DUII Enforcement Deputy of the Year by the Oregon DUII Task Force. Mills is now a deputy for Yamhill County and has, for several years, prioritized DUII investigations to increase safety on the roads and streets within Yamhill County.
In 2019-2020 Deputy Mills made 88 arrests for impaired driving. His quality investigations resulted in him being selected for training as a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE), which he recently completed. This extensive training involves using physical tests in conjunction with physiological indicators to identify impairment from controlled substances as well as alcohol.
Earlier this year, YCSO was awarded an impaired driving grant through Oregon Department of Transportation for a funded DUII deputy position. This grant provides 100% funding for two years, 75% for the third year, and 50% for the fourth year. Deputy Mills was selected for that assignment and is now focusing his attention toward impaired driving investigations full time.
“Driving while impaired continues to be an issue within Yamhill County and statewide.” said Sheriff Svenson. “A large percentage of our crashes, including fatal crashes, involve impaired driving. In a six month period between late 2020 and early 2021, there were 9 fatalities from 7 fatal crashes. At least 5 of these were directly attributed to impaired drivers. We are proud to partner with ODOT in lowering these numbers in the future with aggressive investigation and education.”
