LATHROP — Sixty-five DUI arrests within the City of Lathrop earned Deputy Chris Sterni a hero’s award from Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) at the group’s annual Law Enforcement and Community Recognition dinner in Sacramento last Saturday.

A member of the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department assigned to the Lathrop Police Services, Deputy Sterni’s DUI arrests accounted for a total of 54 percent of the total arrests made by his entire department within the last year.

It was the 14th anniversary of the MADD California Statewide recognition held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Sacramento.  There were some 600 in attendance from 53 counties throughout the state.

Manteca Police officer Dan Chestnut was also a top honoree for reportedly having taken more than 60 motorists off of the Manteca streets for driving under the influence – a record that he repeats every year.  Chestnut was unable to attend the event last week.  Ripon officer Danny Sauer was also saluted for having 10 DUI arrests.

MADD spokesman Silas Miers lauded the Lathrop deputy saying that he continues to set high standards through his commitment to remove impaired drivers and maintain a safer environment for his community.

“The officers recognized at this event have made huge sacrifices in their lives to become the top in the field of traffic safety and enforcement.  These are the top officers in the state for DUI enforcement and many have additional duties within the department.  Some of them have personal stories; perhaps victims themselves.  They have seen first-hand the tragedies and devastation that drunk driving crashes have caused and they have set out to help protect the community from that devastation – for that we honor them,” Miers said.