Police emphasis patrols lead to arrests, recovered drugs on New Year’s Eve

A lot of drivers chose to endanger themselves and others on New Year’s Eve. Police issued 21 DUIs in Seattle and the rest of King County in just one night.

The Washington State Patrol (WSP) and Seattle Police Department (SPD were out in full force, both conducting high-visibility Emphasis Patrols to try to keep the roads safe.

WSP said it arrested 15 people who appeared to be intoxicated and SPD arrested another six.

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Law enforcement said all chose to make our highways more dangerous, by not taking a rideshare, a cab or asking for a designated driver.

And it wasn’t just drunk drivers making it unsafe out there. WSP said in King County alone, it issued citations to 254 drivers for speeding, 128 drivers for aggressive driving and 28 for distracted driving. Six other drivers were cited for not wearing their seatbelts.

And on top of all that, they responded to nine collisions. SPD also made several arrests the night we welcomed in the year 2025 and not all of them were related to impaired driving.\

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During the operation on December 31, Seattle officers contacted 62 drivers resulting in 35 citations, including those six DUI arrests.

It wasn’t a first-time offense for some of those suspected of driving impaired. Three drivers had at least one prior DUI and one driver had four.

Seattle officers had a busy night. They also made three other arrests, recovered a stolen car, seized 38 grams of cocaine and confiscated 180 pills including fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, clonazepam, tramadol and other drugs.

Tom Brock is a weekend anchor, editor and reporter for KIRO Newsradio.