BEMIDJI -- A handful of Bemidji Police officers were recently honored as "All-Stars" for their dedication of removing impaired drivers from the Bemidji roadways.
Officers Jeff Amey and Bidal Duran were both named to the statewide 2019 DWI All-Stars team by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety for their efforts. In addition to Amey and Duran, Officer Josh Wicker and Investigator Jesse Becker both received honorable mention awards.
Amey took 81 impaired motorists off the streets in 2019, and Duran arrested another 39.
This recognition is not the first for Amey, Duran, or the department as a whole. The Bemidji Police Department was honored in September by the Mothers Against Drunk Driving Minnesota chapter with the greater Minnesota “Outstanding Agency” law enforcement award. Duran and Amey were honored individually by MADD for their arrest records. Duran was also named a DWI All-Star in 2018.
“It can be easy for someone to think ‘I feel fine’ after drinking and then get behind the wheel, risking it all with one bad decision,” said Amey. “What’s not so easy is living with that decision after you take a life, seriously injure another person or are facing huge financial penalties and a lost license. I am honored to be an All-Star, and I want motorists to always remember that I’m looking out for their safety because their lives matter to me and to so many others in their lives.”
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Officer Amey, who has been on the force for three years and Duran who is an eight-year veteran of the agency, are among 48 officers, deputies, troopers and prosecutors statewide on the DWI All-Star team.
