“Operation Nighthawk” Saturated Armstrong Streets

by Jonathan Weaver

Local and State roads were saturated with police during the Labor Day holiday.

That effort began Friday evening with “Operation Nighthawk,” a two-day training and enforcement program held at Armstrong Junior/Senior High School, Pennsylvania State Police Troop D Commanding Officer Captain Steve Ignatz explained.

“Operation Nighthawk is a joint venture between the State Police and local officers to remove drunk drivers from highways. We (had) troopers here from across Western Pennsylvania, as well as police from across the Alle-Kiski Valley,” Captain Ignatz said. “We (looked) for drivers under the influence of alcohol as well as drugs – both prescription and illegal.

“It is very effective – it puts everyone on the same playing field. Local officers get the same training (Pennsylvania State Police) do and everyone is encouraged to get some of these problem drivers off the road before they get hurt or kill somebody.”

Local police units involved included officers from Kittanning, West Kittanning, Ford City, East Franklin, Worthington and Manor Township – as well as a handful from the southern entrance to Armstrong County and into Allegheny County.

State Police Corporal Scott Davis (the state’s driving under the influence/drug recognition expert -DUI/DRE- Coordinator since February 2015) said statistically, Troop D regularly calls for more DRE calls are among the top in the state.

“Across the United States, one person is killed or injured every minute from a DUI-related crash,” Corporal Davis began. “They’re out there – they’re everywhere – and they’re on our streets.”

Corporal Davis – who has made nearly 650 DUI arrests during 15 years on the street - challenged officers after a DUI detail with 124 State and municipal officers last year in Chester County yielded 127 DUI arrests.

Another “Operation Nighthawk” detail two weeks ago in Pennsylvania State Police’s Troop H-Harrisburg (Carlisle, Dauphin County, New Cumberland County and York County) resulted in 64 DUI arrests.

Corporal Davis and Corporal Christopher Robbins refreshed officers on standardized field sobriety testing so charges could be assessed in a court of law.

“We had about 65-70 officers (for training during the Labor Day weekend) – unfortunately, we don’t have the manpower to put that many (officers) on the road every weekend, but yet those DUIs are there every weekend.

“(Officers during the weekend were) sacrificing time with their families, their weekends off, so that they can keep everybody safe. I love working with these guys – they’re the meat and potatoes of law enforcement.”

More than 160 drug recognition experts representing about 60 agencies are spread throughout the state.

In 2002, the first “Operation Nighthawk” – which is funded through federal and state dollars - was initiated by the State Police for patrol troopers and local police. It was conducted in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Driving under the Influence Association.

According to the association, the number one suspected drug used by the drivers arrested last year was marijuana, followed by heroin.

Of the roughly 52,000 DUI arrests in 2015, more than 26,000 charges were filed for driving under the influence of drugs by all law enforcement across the state.

Captain Ignatz estimated it has been six-or-seven years since “Operation Nighthawk” in Western Pennsylvania

“At that time, we focused more on Route 28, and now we (brought) it a little further north – although we (hit) Route 28 all the way to (the City of Pittsburgh), we (also hit) a lot of the roads in Armstrong County because there is a big problem with drunken driving,” Captain Ignatz said.

Before patrols began, officers heard the story of Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Kenton Iwaniec – who was killed in March 2008 by a DUI driver along Route 41 in Chester County. His parents – Ken and Debra – told of the family’s heartbreak after they had seen their son just five days before on Palm Sunday.

“How can a family be whole again when an intricate part is missing?” Debra cried. “My biggest regret to date is no matter how fast we traveled that night, I didn’t make it there in enough time to tell Kenton how much I loved him, to hold and comfort him the way a mother should.

“It’s a parent’s worst nightmare when their child precedes them in death.”

State Police Sergeant Lisa Jobe and Lieutenant Chris Yanoff – the current Kittanning station commander – were instructors while Trooper Iwaniec was at the Southwest Training Center in Greensburg.

Corporal Davis called the presentation “extremely emotional.”

Trooper Iwaniec – originally of Ligonier, but stationed in southern Chester County – was newly graduated from the academy, only four months into his appointment, and would have turned 32 years old this year.

Captain Ignatz hoped the Iwaniec Family – who have given out more than 1,000 breathalyzer tests through their foundation during the past eight years - encouraged law enforcement to get more drunk drivers off the road.

Former Penn State football player Lee Rubin, District Attorney Scott Andreassi and the Reverend Robert Byrnes also spoke to officers before patrol.

Evident after Friday night’s training concluded, Armstrong 9-1-1 dispatchers fielded several successive dispatches from law enforcement officials during traffic stops and even regarding a high-speed vehicle chase along Route 422 from the Graff Bridge in North Buffalo Township past the Route 28 exit in East Franklin Township.