BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A weekend initiative to deter impaired driving resulted in more than 100 arrests for DUI or drugs, state police said Monday.
The Pennsylvania State Police Troop M hosted Operation Nighthawk on Friday and Saturday. The two-day training and enforcement program combined classroom instruction workshops on DUI case law and roving DUI patrols.
There were 73 arrests for driving under the influence and 28 drug arrests, according to a news release.
The majority of the arrests took place in the Troop M coverage area of Northampton, Lehigh and Bucks counties, Trooper Nathan Branosky said.
Troopers from Troop L (Berks, Lebanon, Schuylkill counties), Troop K (Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware counties), Troop N (Columbia, Carbon, Luzerne and Monroe counties) and Troop F (Cameron, Clinton, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Tioga and Union counties) participated in the classroom training and traveled back to their respective troops to conduct enforcement, Branosky said.
Additionally, the majority of municipal departments participating were within the Troop M coverage area, but some (Hamburg, Muhlenberg, Fleetwood and Exeter Township police departments) also attended the classroom portion and traveled back to their respective areas for enforcement, according to Branosky.
Initiative included 127 officers
In total, 78 troopers from six troops (15 stations) and two bureaus, along with 49 municipal officers from 29 different agencies took part in the initiative, according to the release.
Participants heard from Col. Tom Manion, United States Marine Corps (Retired), and Chairman Emeritus of the Travis Manion Foundation.
Manion is the father of 1st Lt. Travis Manion USMC, a Doylestown, Bucks County, resident killed in action on April 29, 2007, on his second deployment to Iraq.
The Travis Manion Foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on investing in the mental health and well-being of veterans and families of the fallen.
Troopers also heard from Assistant District Attorney Paul Bernardino III from Lehigh County and Nathan Boob, traffic safety resource prosecutor for the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association.
Breakdown of results
Impaired driving has been among the most persistent threats to road safety in the Lehigh Valley, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office recently told LehighValleyNews.com.
Lehigh County recorded about 1,750 impaired-driving cases in 2024, a rise of almost 42% over the past five years, according to county statistics.
Northampton County had 756 impaired-driving cases in 2024, the same number it processed in 2020. But cases were significantly higher in the three years between, peaking at 992 in 2022, county statistics show.
The final breakdown of results from Operation Nighthawk included:
DUI arrests: 73
Drug arrests: 28
Seatbelt citations: 19
Driving under suspension citations: 44
Driving under suspension DUI related citations: 16
Underage drinking arrests: 6
Other citations: 336
Other criminal citations: 28
Misdemeanor arrests: 21
Felony arrests: 2
Warrants served: 9
Warnings Issued: 819
For more information on the Pennsylvania State Police, visit www.psp.pa.gov.
