Officers with party patrol units across Pierce County knew it could be a busy and dangerous weekend when you mix graduations and parties.
Sgt Bob Thompson, with 24 years with the Puyallup Police Dept., says under-age drinking and drunken driving is abnormally high in Pierce County.
We're not going to tolerate kids that are drinking, he said. That what they believe from yesteryear that,hey, it's a rite of passage or whateveris absolutely wrong.
Call after call comes in with party complaints for police to check.
And this unit is specifically looking for under-age drinkers breaking the law.
We watched the party patrol team get pulled in all directions, arresting teens along the Puyallup River, Orting, Sumner and unincorporated areas.
As the night wore on there was a huge bust - a high school graduation party at a home in Puyallup with more than 75 kids.
Some teens blow over the legal limit.
Evidence is littered on the front lawn - empty bottles of hard liquor and beer. Even more alarmingwas open beer cans in the cup holder of a Jeep.
Police say the dad wasn't serving alcohol, but some kids appeared drunk.
Through the large line-up we found a group of boys who chose not to take a sip.
This would have been a big deal cause I have a basketball scholarship to University of Puget Sound, said Derek Jobe. It wasn't worth it on a night like this to risk and have it revoked when you can have just as much fun without drinking.
In handcuffs, the minors were dropped off at a processing center. As they waited for their parents to pick them up they had a chance to talk to a chemical dependency specialist and parent volunteers.
Police look at this night as a possible intervention, filled with memories and reminders of how much alcohol they consumed the night of their possibly first - and hopefully last - arrest.
Pierce County law enforcement said they've arrested nearly 200 under-age drinkers so far this spring. The cases are handed over to the courts and prosecutor s office
