Edina Police Recognized With MADD Award

Press release from the City of Edina:

October 16, 2020

Edina, Minn., Oct. 16, 2020 – The commitment of the Edina Police Department to keep impaired drivers off the roads was recently recognized, as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) gave the City its Outstanding Law Enforcement Agency Metro Area award.

Earlier this week, the department received its award in a virtual ceremony to recognize law enforcement throughout the state.

This is the second recent award for the Edina Police Department, after Officers Ben Wenande and Jesse Penman were selected to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety (DPS-OTS) DWI All-Star Team in August.

Edina Police are dedicated to removing impaired drivers from the roads. Over the last four years from 2016 to 2019, the department has made more than 1,700 arrests for driving while intoxicated, an average of nearly 1.2 per day. According to the DPS-OTS, Wenande’s 131 DWI arrests in 2019 were the second-most by a local agency officer. More than 2,000 total arrests for DWI were made in the Twin Cities area in 2019.

Each year, MADD recognizes the brave men and women of Minnesota for their commitment to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes and prevent underage drinking. Law enforcement plays a critical role in the fight to eliminate this 100 percent preventable crime.

Together with the 2020 Event Sponsor, Hiway Federal, the Minnesota office of MADD will recognize heroes from around Minnesota who champion MADD's mission. Throughout of the month of October, MADD Minnesota will continue to highlight the great work of each award recipient on its Facebook page.

For more details about the award, visit MADD’S Facebook page. Additional information about the Edina Police Department can be found online at EdinaMN.gov/Police.

This press release was produced by the City of Edina. The views expressed here are the author’s own.