Courtesy Photo

University Police Officer Kevin Johnston has never received so much recognition for making people walk in a straight line and breathe into a plastic tube.

Yesterday, Mothers Against Drunk Driving honored the University Police rookie for making 18 DUI arrests in the past year – the most in his department.

At the Del Mar Hilton, Johnston, along with 31 other police officers from departments around the county, were recognized for their exemplary work in curtailing drunk driving.

MADD presented Johnston with a plaque, a certificate from the state assembly and a pin emblazoned with the numbers 23-152, which is the DUI section of the vehicle code.

Johnston said that receiving the award was “a distinguished honor” and that police Chief John Browning and the rest of the department have been incredibly supportive.

“It’s actually really rewarding,” Johnston said, “because you think about the lives you may have saved, you know, a mother or a family driving home, innocently.

“A lot of DUI drivers don’t collide with other DUI drivers, they collide with innocent people on the way to work, or on the way home from events. And the DUI driver’s normally not the one who dies, it’s the people that they impact that are the ones that are injured or killed.”

Charissa Mcafee, executive director of MADD in San Diego County said that Johnston’s work reinforces MADD’s mission of preventing drunk driving.

“Officer Johnston has shown that he is committed to making the university community a safer place,” McAfee said. “Which is evident in his arrest and conviction rate.”