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Mission Moment – June 2022

Alex Otte

“I find peace in knowing that each of you are out there every day”

Alex Otte

Mothers Against Drunk Driving

National President

My name is Alex Otte and I am the National President of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. In two weeks, it will be 12 years since the day everything in my life changed and would never be the same again. I will never be able to say that things have gotten better over time, because that has not always been true for me. I can say that things have gotten different.

I am 25 years old. I live in Kentucky with my husband, who is a police officer, and our three dogs: Sheriff, Sergeant and Chief. Life is good, most days, but there will never be a single second that I don’t live with the consequences of someone else’s choice.

On July 2, 2010, I was run over by a drunk driver. My offender wasn’t driving a car, he was driving a 17-foot bass boat at more than 70 miles per hour. I was sitting across the narrow lake from my mom and brother, and the boat was headed toward them when he banked it to the left and never straightened up. The boat hit me going more than 60 miles per hour and threw me off the jet ski. I landed face down in the water and the boat landed on top of my body before it sunk. I sustained severe, life-threatening, and lifelong injuries from head to toe including a severe traumatic brain injury, classified as shaken baby syndrome, a shattered jaw, a broken neck, a broken collarbone, a lacerated liver, bilateral shattered femurs, and the loss of my right leg below the knee.

The man who ran me over was nearly three times over the legal limit two and a half hours later. This would be his fourth DUI. Boating under the influence is driving under the influence. It is a choice that can lead to devastating consequences.

I wasn’t supposed to have survived, and while I did, recovery is a never-ending process for me. I knew almost 12 years ago that I wanted to be the last little girl this would ever happen to. I know almost 12 years later that I wasn’t. I also know that because of law enforcement efforts to get drunk and drugged drivers off the road and off the water, more little girls make it home safely.

While each anniversary is different, I have lived in fear of this one for 12 years, and the closer we get to July 2, 2022, the more I think about that. Between this anniversary (2022) and the next (2023) will be the last 365 days of my life that I will still be able to say I have lived more of my life with two legs than with one. That scares me, but I find peace in knowing that each of you are out there every day making sure that people are held accountable for their dangerous and deadly choice, and that you are protecting others from experiencing such a tragedy.

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Guest Author – June 2022

Taylor Matsko

‘Operation Dry Water’ Takes Place Nationwide Deterring Impaired Boating

Taylor Matsko

Communications & Marketing Director

National Association of State Boating Law Administrators

Not only is impaired operation a concern on our nation’s roadways, but it also is a major issue on America’s waterways. Impaired boating continues to be a leading known contributing factor in fatal recreational boating incidents.1 The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), U.S. Coast Guard, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, as well as recreational boating safety advocates are gearing up to spread awareness and prevent tragedies related to boating under the influence (BUI) this summer.

Law enforcement officers across the country will be on heightened alert for those in violation of boating under the influence laws as part of the annual Operation Dry Water (ODW) weekend, July 2 – 4, 2022. Operation Dry Water is a year-round boating under the influence awareness and enforcement campaign with the mission of reducing the number of alcohol and drug-related incidents and fatalities through increased recreational boater awareness and by fostering a stronger deterrent to alcohol and drug use on the water.

Millions of boaters will head to the water to celebrate the July 4th holiday over the extended weekend. Unfortunately, alcohol use by both operators and passengers often becomes part of these activities, causing an increase in the number of injuries, incidents and fatalities on the water.2 Law enforcement agencies from all 56 U.S. states and territories are expected to participate in Operation Dry Water. These agencies will focus their efforts on detecting impaired boaters, removing them from our nation’s waterways and educating the public about the dangers of boating under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Environmental “stressors” such as wind, noise, and the movement of the boat while on the water intensify the effects of alcohol or drug use on an individual while boating. Boaters can become impaired much more quickly on the water than on land, with less amounts of alcohol. Impairment can lead to collisions, falls overboard, injuries and deaths that could have been prevented if boaters had made the decision not to drink alcohol or be otherwise impaired while boating.

Since the commencement of the Operation Dry Water campaign in 2009, law enforcement officers across the nation have removed over 5,300 impaired operators from waterways during the annual three-day weekend. For more information about Operation Dry Water visit http://www.operationdrywater.org.

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Officer of the Month – June 2022

Officer Josh Landrum

MADD June 2022 Officer of the Month

Officer Josh Landrum

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

MADD National selects Officer Josh Landrum as our Officer of the Month for June 2022. Officer Landrum is with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

Officer Landrum was the National Association of State Boating Law Enforcement Administrator’s (NASBLA) 2021 Operation Dry Water Officer of the Year. Over the 2021 Operation Dry Water weekend, Officer Landrum made eight arrests for boating under the influence (BUI). He worked each day of the 2021 Operation Dry Water weekend, logging more than 15 hours per day. Throughout the three-day weekend, Officer Landrum checked 77 vessels, contacted 122 boaters and issued 27 citations. Prior to Operation Dry Water weekend, Officer Landrum had already arrested 11 operators for BUI since the end of May 2021.

This past year, Officer Landrum was the lead investigator for seven boating incidents and assisted district officers with many others. Officer Landrum devotes an enormous amount of his time to the agency, the public, and to boating safety in one way or another.

He started his Operation Dry Water informational awareness campaign off early last year by volunteering to have a speaking role in the newest TWRA Operation Dry Water public service announcement. This video was shared with news outlets and on social media statewide to get the message out about the dangers of boating under the influence and TWRA’s role in the Operation Dry Water weekend.

MADD is proud to select Officer Josh Landrum of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency as the MADD June 2022 Officer of the Month.  We thank him for his passion in removing impaired boat operators from the waterways and making them safer for all to enjoy.  We wish him the best in safety and wellness in the remaining years of his career and service to the citizens of the State of Tennessee.

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MADD extends our deepest condolences to the agencies and families who have lost officers and loved ones in the line of duty

For a complete listing of Officers lost in the line of duty, please visit: www.odmp.org

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