Officer Honored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for Impaired-Driving Arrests

A Pasadena Police Department officer has been recognized by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for making at least 25 arrests of impaired drivers in a single year, the threshold the organization sets for its 23152 Pin — named for the section of the California Vehicle Code that makes it illegal to drive under the influence.

Officer Hailey Saurenman received the award at the organization’s 2026 Law Enforcement and Prosecutor Awards ceremony at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, the City reported in the City Manager’s weekly newsletter. Pasadena Police Chief Gene Harris and department command staff congratulated Saurenman on the recognition, which the City described as reflecting the department’s mission to protect the community through education and enforcement.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving? presents the award to sworn officers who record 25 or more arrests for driving under the influence over a one-year period. The accompanying pin is red — a color the organization says represents victims of impaired-driving crashes and memorializes officers killed or injured in impaired-driving collisions.

Nationally, an estimated 11,904 people died in crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver in 2024, about 30% of all traffic fatalities, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has reported. California records well over 100,000 arrests for driving under the influence in a typical year.

In Pasadena, that enforcement is funded largely through outside grants. The Pasadena Police Department announced in November 2025 that it had received a $545,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to expand traffic operations — including checkpoints and patrols aimed at suspected impaired drivers — through September.

“We are grateful to receive this grant, which will strengthen our traffic enforcement efforts,” Lieutenant Anthony Russo said in a department statement announcing the award.

The department selects checkpoint locations at undisclosed sites based on crash and arrest data.

“Impaired drivers put others on the road at significant risk,” Commander Bill Grisafe said in a statement accompanying a past checkpoint. The department has stressed that impaired driving is not limited to alcohol; some prescription and over-the-counter medications, as well as marijuana, can also lead to a charge. Drivers arrested for a first offense face an average of $13,500 in fines and penalties along with a license suspension, according to the department.

State traffic-safety officials frame the work as part of a broader effort. “Through focused traffic enforcement and education, we’re working toward a future where everyone will be safe on California roads,” Office of Traffic Safety Director Stephanie Dougherty said in a statement.

Saurenman appeared in the newsletter photograph with more than a dozen colleagues, including Commander Bill Grisafe and Lieutenant Mathew Campeau, both named in past department statements on impaired-driving enforcement. The grant underwriting much of Pasadena’s enforcement runs through September, with funding routed through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.