LAFAYETTE, IN — Police removed 1,153 suspected drunk drivers on Tippecanoe County roads in 2025, thanks to the efforts of five police agencies in the county.
“Hopefully that’s 1,000 lives saved,” West Lafayette Mayor Erin Easter said. “A thousand lives changed; 1,000 accidents that didn’t happen, and … 1,000 opportunities to think about what you’re doing and make a difference.
“In the land and world of Uber and Lyft, there is truly no reason (to drive drunk).”
Eighteen officers with the top number of arrests received honors Monday evening from the Drive Sober of Greater Lafayette.
Indiana State Police at the Lafayette post made 423 DWI arrests on Tippecanoe County roads in 2025.
With 89 DWI arrests in 2025, trooper Bradley Howell had the highest number of arrests of all of the five agencies.
Trooper Zachary Grundell made 61 DWI arrests, and Mitchell McKinney made 55. Trooper Gage Walters made 26 DWI arrests, and Brandon Howell made 22 arrests. Troper Devin Walsh also made 22 arrests, and troopers Francisco Miramontes and Garrett Schroder each made 20 DWI arrests.
West Lafayette officers arrested 177 on drunk driving charges in 2025. Of those arrests, officer Owen Walbaum was the top officer with 33. Officer Joseph Przybylowski made 22 arrests, and Collin Knolhoff made 21.
Tippecanoe County sheriff’s deputies removed 181 suspected drunk drivers from the roads. Deputy Matthew Sears was the top cop for the agency with 25 arrests. Deputy Carolina Venegas had 24 DWI arrests, Kevin Beards had 23 and Tyler Sapp arrested 22.
Lafayette police arrested 350 drivers suspected of drunk driving. Officer Michael Ross was the top officer with 24 DWI arrests. Officer Cristian Navarro had 22 arrests.
Purdue police made 27 total DWI arrests in 2025. Its top officer was Zach Waltz, with 17.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Drive Sober’s 2025 ‘Top Cop’ awards recognizes leaders in DWI arrests
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
