- MADD Roll Call Series | MADD Law Enforcement Impaired Driving Roll Call Video Series
- MADD’s 2021 Court Monitoring Report | Effective Court Monitoring
- MADD/Ipsos Poll | Consumers Support Drunk Driving Prevention Systems in Cars
- DRUG-IMPAIRED DRIVING ENFORCEMENT TRAINING (DIDET) | Get support for your DIDET program!
- Drug Impaired Driving Enforcement
Training Opportunities Available | Training in Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and as Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) - Drugged Driving | Dangers of Prescription Drug Consumption and Driving
- MADD’s Marijuana Survey Report | Misconceptions about Marijuana Consumption and Driving
- Legislation | Check Out Your State’s Legislature
- NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts | Overview of Motor Vehicle Crashes in 2019
- NHTSA | State Alcohol-Impaired Driving Estimates for 2018
- NHTSA Early Estimates of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities | First Quarter of 2020
- NTHSA RFI | Available or late-stage technology under development for impaired driving detection and mitigation
- TOOFS | MADD and Waymo’s Tie-One-On For Safety Holiday Campaign
- 2021 National Lifesavers Conference | Register
- IACP | Traffic Enforcement During the COVID-19 Pandemic Processing DUIs during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Considerations for Law Enforcement Safe, Quick Clearance of Traffic Incidents toolkit Policy Framework for Improved Community-Police Engagement
- Warriors’ Ascent | Providing hope and healing to Veterans and First Responders suffering from Post Traumatic Stress
Law Enforcement Support

“Ok, I’ll see you in a little bit…”
That morning was no different than any other morning. The air was clear and crisp as I returned home from my overnight shift as a tow truck driver. When I got home my wife, Mandy was up getting our children, Ryan (3 ½) and Kaitlyn (11 months) dressed for the day. I headed off to my second job at a tractor dealership. I worked hard. I did it for them, my family.
The day went on and the first rainfall in weeks fell in the early afternoon. The hours ticked away until quitting time. I walked outside of work to head home and was greeted by one of the most beautiful sunsets I had ever seen. The clouds had scattered and were powered with traces of gold and a misty blue gleaming through. I stopped for a moment, snapped a picture of the sunset on my cell phone and headed home to wait for my family to return from their day’s activities. I had no way of knowing that cell phone picture would become one of my most cherished photographs. It was the last sunset my family would ever see.
Mandy called a few minutes after eight o’clock. She was on her way home from running errands and teaching a violin lesson. She had just picked up Ryan and Kaitlyn from her mother’s house and was driving home to me. She told me she would be home soon.
“Ok, I’ll see you in a little bit,” I told her and hung up the phone. It was the last time I would hear her voice. Just a few minutes later, a drunk driver blew through a stop sign hitting our family car broadside at 68 mph, instantly killing Mandy, Ryan and Kaitlyn. The force of the collision ejected the kids out of their car seats and the car.
Then the noise stopped. There was nothing but quiet. I was sitting there waiting for them to come home when I heard an accident report come in over my fire department radio. No it couldn’t be. I thought certainly that is not my family in that accident. I immediately called Mandy’s phone. There was no answer.
The things I experienced that night will be forever etched in my memory. As time has gone on I have realized that talking about my family allows who they were on this earth to continue to live on. The life they had, the love that they knew, and the way that their time here began, was spent and then how it ended, will forever have a profound effect on the people who knew and loved them. I have found hope in knowing that the lessons learned through their story go beyond age, time or distance.
I am honored and humbled now to tell their story and will continue to tell it to whoever is willing to take a moment to listen.
Joshua Jahn

Newsletter Archives

John Whetsel
- Sheriff (ret), Oklahoma County OK
- Chair, Traffic Safety Committee, National Sheriffs Association
- Chief (ret), Choctaw OK Police Department
- Past President, International Assn of Chiefs of Police
SAY THEIR NAME …
There has been so many efforts to curb impaired driving over the years – changing laws, public education, increased detection – and yet, there are still so many victims – 10,511 in 2018. Every 50 minutes another person dies as a result of an impaired driver. We must remember that every one of those victims has a name and it’s up to us to Say Their Name.
Donna Potvin was a 48-year old mother of 6 who died when her vehicle was hit head-on by an impaired driver in Midwest City, OK, in 2018. Her killer received 52 weekends in the county jail and 35-years probation. Her husband was outraged. “How is that fair to my wife? How is that fair to my six kids.” I am sure the sentence would have been different, harsher, if the killer had used a gun or knife instead of a car.
Our society has decided it’s acceptable to die in a motor vehicle crash. Today and every day over 100 people die in traffic crashes – including 29 who will die at the hands of an impaired driver – and there is no news coverage, no public outrage, and no urgency by elected officials. There will just be immense sadness and loss by those who will bury and grieve for their loved ones.
On February 3, 2020, the intoxicated driver of a pick-up truck, going 79-mph in a 25-mph zone, crossed two lanes, struck a parked vehicle and veered onto a sidewalk, where, with over 150 high school students watching, he plowed into members of the Moore OK High School cross country track team running less than a block from the school. 17-year-old senior Rachel Freeman died at the scene, 16-year old sophomore Yuidia Martinez died the following day, and 18-year-old senior Kolby Crum died 12 days later. Ashton Baza, Shiloh Hutchinson and Joseph White were injured. The driver, a multiple-time repeat DUI offender, fled the scene and was arrested a few minutes later after additional crashes. He is charged with 13 felony counts, including 3 counts of manslaughter.
It shouldn’t matter what the weapon is – but it does. This killer would have faced murder charges if he had used a gun or knife to kill these students, but, because he used a motor vehicle, the charges were manslaughter that carry a lesser sentence.
Why is it okay to die in a motor vehicle crash and why do we value the life of those killed with a gun or knife more than one killed by a motor vehicle? It’s not fair and it’s not right!
Too many people think that because a vehicle was used “it’s just an accident” – but it’s not. No one has ever died by accident in a crash. Using the word “accident” minimizes the deaths and injuries that occur in motor vehicle crashes. It’s offensive to victims and survivors.
Recently I heard a public official say that their investigation would determine the cause of the “accident”. An accident is “an unfortunate event that happens by chance or without apparent cause”, but every crash has a cause – speed, running a stop sign, reckless or impaired driving – it may be unplanned, but it’s never accidental.
It’s time to change attitudes about “accidents”. It’s also time to change attitudes about traffic crash deaths being acceptable, and it’s time to change laws that treat traffic crash victims differently than other victims of violent crime. With your help, we need to begin that change now.
We begin by never forgetting the victims – by saying their names. Today I said the names of Donna, Rachel, Yuidia, Colby, Ashton, Shiloh and Joseph.
We also need to work with legislatures to change laws to ensure that all victims of violent crime are treated equally.
We must stop using the word “accident” and work with elected officials to replace the word “accident” with the word “crash” in city ordinances and state laws.
We must continue to aggressively enforce traffic laws, remove impaired drivers from the roadways and demand that courts apply the law to provide justice for all victims.
Let me close by saying three additional names – Darlene, my first wife, and Becky, our 2-year old daughter. They died when their car was struck by a law enforcement officer in pursuit of a possible impaired driver. Our 4-year-old daughter Stacy was critically injured and miraculously survived. I was one of the officers who arrived to assist at the scene.
For me, this is personal. I ask you to join me and together, let’s … SAY THEIR NAME.
Newsletter Archives

Deputy Sheriff Colby Sander - Dewey County, OK Sheriff's Office
Dewey County is a rural county in far western Oklahoma. It’s main economic base is farming and there are miles of rural roads and several state highways within the 1,008 square miles of Dewey County.
Colby Sander began his career in law enforcement with the Dewey County Sheriff’s Office in 2016 as a Detention Officer while also attending Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford OK.
Colby received his degree and law enforcement certification upon graduation in 2017 and was transferred to law enforcement duties in 2017.
Deputy Sander has dedicated much of his patrol time every shift to the detection and apprehension of impaired drivers. He has made it his mission to protect the citizens of his county by working tirelessly to locate and arrest those who choose to drive while impaired.
Colby has excelled in this endeavor and was responsible for 70% of the impaired driving arrests made by the Dewey County Sheriff’s Office 2019.
When asked why it was so important to him, Colby replied that every DUI arrest he makes protects the innocent lives of everyone else on the road and knowing that he is saving lives by removing impaired drivers from behind the wheel, is the driving force behind his determination to make driving as safe as possible in Dewey County.
Colby and his wife Jordan live in Seiling OK, where he also farms and operates a cattle ranch when he is off-duty. And that’s part of it too, if he makes it safe for others, he makes it safe for he and his family when they drive on the roads of Dewey County also.
Newsletter Archives
MADD extends our deepest condolences to the agencies and families who have lost officers and loved ones in the line of duty
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Sergeant Michael Moran was shot and killed while making a traffic stop near the intersection of South Broadway and San Juan Drive at about 11:25 am. An occupant of the car... Read More
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Detective Mike Lett succumbed to critical injuries he received in a vehicle crash on October 28, 2023. At 11:00 a.m., Detective Lett hydroplaned on Interstate 430 while responding to a... Read More
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K9 Max was shot and killed while tracking an aggravated assault suspect to the Elite City View apartment on Lakemont Drive in College Park at 10:45 a.m. A subject fired at... Read More
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K9 Bane was strangled while attempting to apprehend a robbery suspect on White Oak Drive near East Cherry Creek Drive in Wichita. A man wanted on warrants for robbery and domestic... Read More
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Border Patrol Agent Freddy Ortiz was killed in an ATV crash in Douglas, Arizona, while responding to reports of undocumented immigrants in the area of Chino Road and 5th Street. His... Read More
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Correctional Officer III Jovian Motley died while helping restrain a combative inmate at the J. Dale Wainwright Unit at 2665 Prison Road 1 in Lovelady. The cause of death is... Read More
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Sergeant Jon Jenson died as a result of contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty. Sergeant Jenson was a United States Army veteran and had served with the Fort Worth Police... Read More
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K9 Fury was killed when the patrol car he was riding in was struck by a reckless driver on S River Street near W 7th Street at about 10:40 am. K9... Read More
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Senior Police Officer Jorge Pastore was shot and killed during a hostage barricade at 9308 Bernoulli Drive at about 4:10 am. Patrol officers had initially responded to the residence for a... Read More
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K9 Kenzo was strangled while attempting to apprehend two armed robbery suspects. At 7:53 p.m., while searching for two suspects in an armed robbery, deputies witnessed one of the men entering... Read More
For a complete listing of Officers lost in the line of duty, please visit: www.odmp.org
Newsletter Archives
Resources
- MADD Roll Call Series | MADD Law Enforcement Impaired Driving Roll Call Video Series
- MADD’s 2021 Court Monitoring Report | Effective Court Monitoring
- MADD/Ipsos Poll | Consumers Support Drunk Driving Prevention Systems in Cars
- DRUG-IMPAIRED DRIVING ENFORCEMENT TRAINING (DIDET) | Get support for your DIDET program!
- Drug Impaired Driving Enforcement Training Opportunities Available | Training in Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and as Drug Recognition Experts (DRE)
- Drugged Driving | Dangers of Prescription Drug Consumption and Driving
- MADD’s Marijuana Survey Report | Misconceptions about Marijuana Consumption and Driving
- Legislation | New York .05% BAC Vermont .05 Per Se Law Vermont ignition interlocks Vermont advanced technology
- NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts | Overview of Motor Vehicle Crashes in 2019
- NHTSA | State Alcohol-Impaired Driving Estimates for 2018
- NHTSA Early Estimates of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities | First Quarter of 2020
- NTHSA RFI | Available or late-stage technology under development for impaired driving detection and mitigation
- TOOFS | MADD and Waymo’s Tie-One-On For Safety Holiday Campaign
- 2021 National Lifesavers Conference | Register
- IACP | Traffic Enforcement During the COVID-19 Pandemic Processing DUIs during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Considerations for Law Enforcement Safe, Quick Clearance of Traffic Incidents toolkit Policy Framework for Improved Community-Police Engagement
- Warriors’ Ascent | Providing hope and healing to Veterans and First Responders suffering from Post Traumatic Stress