MADD February 2021 Officer of the Month
Trooper First Class William Smith
Florida Highway Patrol
Trooper First Class William Smith has been a member of the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) for seven years. He has been dedicated to DUI enforcement within the Tampa Bay area the entire time. In the short amount of time he has been with the FHP, he has arrested over 550 impaired drivers and has voluntarily been on the midnight shift to hunt impaired drivers for the last five years.
Trooper Smith uses data driven approaches to proactively look for impaired drivers in areas that show the highest amount of DUI crashes. He has made it a point to respond to any deputy or police officer in the area who has stopped a suspected impaired driver to assist with the investigation.
Trooper Smith has been recognized by the State Attorney’s Office for his sterling reports that always result in a conviction. He is always on the ready to testify in any proceeding regardless of the time of day or being sleep deprived from the previous night’s shift.
In 2019 alone, FHP data shows Trooper Smith was personally responsible for over 1,300 traffic stops in Pinellas County alone that resulted in 104 DUI arrests. These arrests also include drug impaired driving cases that require more time to investigate and professionally prosecute.
Trooper First Class Smith is also instrumental in educating the public in community forums and providing DUI Enforcement training to new troopers and other agencies on his own time. His passion is to rid the roadways of impaired drivers in any way possible through education, training, and enforcement. He has received the MADD FL 100 Club Award.
MADD National is proud to select Trooper First Class William Smith as the February 2021 Officer of the Month. We thank him for his dedicated service and wish him safety and the best throughout his remaining career. Thanks to MADD Florida State Executive Director Larry Coggins for his nomination of Trooper Smith for the Officer of the Month recognition.
