[Music] I hope welcome back to another piece ESL podcast where we talk about a now County and we talked about law enforcement in Pinal County I'm excited today because we have some really good guests first of all to my left here we've got deputy McIlwain who needs no introduction if you watched a live PD you know exactly who he is so we're glad to have him on here today thank you and he's gonna be my co-host today so you guys are in for a real treat and then one of our guests is David Ellis yep so we haven't thanks for having thanks for coming in here today my pleasure the reason we're doing this podcast we do one every week but this month we want to talk about DUI awareness we're getting into December and most of us do a DUI Task Force the whole month of December and we really try to hit home on some of the statistics and some of the dangers of DUI driving out while intoxicated not only alcohol but drugs as well so just to give you a little idea of how serious of an issue this is from 2011 to 2018 we there was six thousand nine hundred and eighty six fatalities in Arizona that is a staggering amount I mean that's that's coming out to more than close to a thousand fatalities a year so we want to talk about this today and hopefully somebody out there is listening in and we'll get an uber or do whatever it takes to avoid getting a DUI or even worse potentially taking somebody's life for their own so David almost start with you first look tell us a little bit tell us who you are tell the listeners who you are okay why and maybe just touch real quick on why you today why you're our guest well Who I am I'm a native lived here my whole life I'm an alcoholic been drinking probably since I was 16 17 years old probably been drinking and driving since then as well I'm a three-time DUI offender it's only by the grace of God or by somebody like this gentleman sitting next to me it intervened that I haven't killed somebody that I haven't added to those statistics I was gravel drunk wake up every day drink go to work thought it was a normal routine been in the bar business my whole life everybody I knew around me country club wise that's what you did I mean bloody marys in the morning drink all day long as you got a jo B and paid those bills you were okay and and I gotta tip my hat to you because it takes a lot of guts to be able to come on here and just say this is who I am this is what I've done and I love that you're doing it because I think people hated to hear well you got to pay for somebody I got lucky that's that there's no way to shake it got lucky I didn't kill somebody got lucky that I didn't get a year stretch got lucky that I got pulled over by somebody that actually treated my dumbass with kindness despite the stupidity that I displayed despite the rude and blatant disrespectful things that I said and for those of you listening for who wasn't the pulled over officer actually nobody matically yeah and you know he's I can tell you right now deputy Mac Lane is is one of our he's very active and takes duis very serious how many duis investigations did you do last year last year I think it came out to about two hundred two DUI slasher I'm telling you from a law enforcement standpoint any of you at law enforcement understand how many that is that's a half a DUI a day yeah so that's impressive thank you good work so yes okay so take us to this when was it that that you got stopped for the deep um I got my DUI I guess which one yeah the well yeah well my first my first one was I was probably like 23 ish had every excuse to be out partying my uncle died that day used everything you know the excuses it's an excuse is that's all it is was in a rental truck of all things made a pretty good ways and I got pulled over because my lights weren't on and let's just say my temper got the best of me so I earned that one my second I was leaving work again like I said I'm an alcoholic so drinking and hanging out at work was no big deal but that particular situation I was a point o4 so that when I was I want to say 27-inch 28 inch so I was right on the cusp of like when the law entered me in the seven years or whatever I think is when I was so they charged me for a second offense on that one I layered up got out of that one too impaired to the slightest but carried all the penalties of a regular traditional DUI this one man I put in some work that day got up about eight o'clock how to get to work picked up a pint right here at Circle K RA ganzel's shoutout to Gaskell's picked up a pint a hundred proof vodka drink that on the way to work probably drank another half pint meanwhile I was working got off around three we went across the street to the Circle K from my job picked up a pint killed that by like I don't know like Warner and Greenfield ish wherever that certain okay right there is picked up another pint almost almost killed that played poker for some friends and was further kids baseball team whatever yeah way to represent for the kids hammered so yeah drank yeah the whole tunnels playing cards made it from val vista and warner at the Western skies golf course yeah all the way until I ran into this guy over here on I ruined knock to you I made it I was almost home and before we get further into the story so they say that one of the old adages I've heard is for every person who's caught on DUI they've driven at least I think it's 7 or 11 dives without having God cop well they what they that I've heard as well but in rehab when you get around the real pros it's about a hundred so I've been drinking and driving since I was 16 years old I've had three duis you do the math and I promise you after how many accidents the accident oh I've wrecked every vehicle I've ever driven it's like I said I mean it's only by the grace of God that I've never killed anybody I mean the only people that have ever been heard by my stupidity or myself I mean I've been a brand-new fully restored 66 Mustang into a you thought I want to learn that and you know I had a friend in high school who had drank and I it had to have been one of his first few times drinking if not his first and got into an accident there was a fatality spent ten years in prison oh yeah that's like I mean I I think about it and I mean I'm always kind of prided myself on being a halfway decent guy and trying to be as respectful as I could we try to leave the world a better place kind of person and to think that I made it from Val Vista and Warner to iron ruin ocotillo I was 0.38 by the time y'all got to you Oh Lauren even standing at point three now I wouldn't be able to yeah and how does it so take when you stop them where did you recognize it immediately or was he cuz obviously it's vodka is probably your concern oh yeah that was mine that's not that easy to spell no no I mean yes well do you think unique thing about this is first off I think for cops at least the minimum we do this job is so it's a special profession that takes a special person to do it and when it comes to proactive things it's like God possess in a place at a time to intervene in such circumstances like we had so this this incident was a team effort actually off-duty deputy was what called me and brought it to my attention initially and then from there I located him and it was uh there's a unique experience for the both of us from there on for that next hour and a half or two hours again I am very very sorry I am very very psychic and I was of erratic he's eccentric inappropriate we laugh about it now but honestly we want people to know that this is a serious oh no they we're laughing because we get how often do you have the guy who was driving the deputy who got the DUI being able to sit down and have a conversation like this it doesn't happen as often you know and there was another deputy involved also that so it was basically almost three got three deputies one day was off-duty to Iran that handled this situation and it is it's just what brings pardon me is that this job we try to show that people as this job is about being objective it's not being subjective his comments his behavior and we don't take it personal you know our job is to make sure the public safe and it ultimately even the offender his life is changing they're safe and obviously that happen on this incident this incident and I he again I cannot ever apologize enough do you feel like that experience has changed you so I have to be honestly I the yes um if I would got if I would've been treated like an actual I mean granted I broke the law but I wasn't treated like a criminal I wasn't treated I was still treated like a person despite my behavior despite my blatant disrespect for another human being does despite my Bolger and completely inappropriate comments complete lack of representation of Who I am as a person yeah they ever I know people that would not have been the bigger man and oh and a hundred percent would have had every right to bounce my head right off of that car like no pea fell this body cam has her office and I think is shown even via some instances long-life PD where we've gettin combative or thirdly combative individuals and showing that today they were meant reach like between being and you know we are well we all have our poisons in life my night may not be yours but I have my own that I deal with and it's just treating like a human being at them start to bit to the end I think this was about you know and I've always tried I've done a lot of DUI investigations and people are very different emotionally like some people are angry some people it hits them and during the backseat crying because their life is over and one thing I've always told them is don't let this define you negatively I mean if it sounds like you've let it define you in a positive way well I yeah because I mean I wouldn't have gotten sober I mean and I needed every day and how long have you been sober I've been what is today our ninth 19 19 so almost a year in six months yeah no it's gone from 16 years old - how old are you now 40 20 plus years of being an alcoholic Oh drinking you able to stop yeah good job well yeah I mean it just it is what it is on that issue I mean it was time and I'm like I've told other people it's I'm from here I'm a native right the fact that I have to think that I was that selfish and could have killed somebody I know and not like we know each other you know to me like oh hey we've met before or somebody that I know as a customer I mean I actually know yeah I mean no other parents know their grandparents know their kids know their aunts uncles I could I could have ruined somebody I knows life well like we said from 2011 to 2018 7007 thousand families have been affected by it haven't seen somebody to do you like yeah and that's the one thing that I hope people get from this I mean and there's so many excuses of why you got to jump into right so many excuses I mean in that's all they are is excuses especially with technology now you made mention it uber I run a bar I mean call an uber call it lift call a friend call anybody you Jimmy Oh kid to soccer practice I promise nobody's gonna steal your car in my parking lot nobody I mean you there's technology is there there's too many viable options then to put somebody else's life in your hands making a horrible decision there's that part which obviously is the most you know it's most egregious part of the DUI is made somebody potentially their life but you've got when you get arrested for DUI it's expensive oh it's a lot of people lose their jobs well I mean I can attest to that I mean I had to $75,000 jobs lined up and that's not a little bit of money I mean it's not great money it's not oh I'm gonna retire my good that's good that's a good damn living yeah that's life you mean single dude and that's life to changing money yeah living here I mean one of the places was a resort in New Mexico I mean dream jobs for me and my profession dream jobs I had to turn him down because I had to do jail time yeah and I had to television license oh yeah a lot couldn't get you couldn't get from my arm to an opportunity where I needed to get to when I had to move when I had to sell my house I mean it just all over one stupid decision one irrational decision so you started at 16 years old oh yeah there's a younger kids listening today or parents who have teenagers give us some advice what don't let what you did become what you do don't you don't mean don't don't don't don't make it a habit don't don't don't I mean peer pressure whatever I'm not I've never been one to believe in that because I think everybody makes their own decisions but don't don't succumb to the fact that this is what I'm gonna do now do you do not do not make the decision it's cool to be part of the party it's cool but it's a it's addictive alcohol I mean all drugs I mean they're they're fun they're great times don't get me wrong I'm not going to tell you about it has some blast being waste didn't have it but it can bite you in the ass it definitely can what about parents listening on ER things that they can watch aged kids pay attention to their behavior patterns pay attention to the people that they hang out with it's little things I mean I'm from the generation where it took a village I mean we our parents friends knew what we were doing that we were involved be involved in your kids lives pay attention to who they're hanging out with pay attention to what they're doing it's out there it's it's so readily accessible one of the things I think people talk about enough is yeah there's marijuana out there there's there's these other things cards are becoming an acceptable part of life your parents use we pay attention right because you're still impaired trust me I've been there I've been smoking dope since I was a little kid I get it but it's you're gonna hurt somebody it's a bad way to live you kill your brain cells you don't ever grow up like wait wait and don't rush growing up you're looking at the proof of the other change that you're speaking of because the day that we met at Circle K cops remember faces and Sheriff when I know you could you can contest that we member faces and when I was filling up I might have to guess at the pump and all I see is you walking towards him like oh crap here we go but I yeah I remember what happened that evening I was like he is pissed here we go I was ready to go on the radio and be ready to call someone to come over and green the boys because I thought it was gonna be one of those incidents where you're about having some retaliation but the moment those words came out your mouth that she said that I saved her life I've probably had three or four memorable like I'll remove the rest of my life type business in my career and that would best one of them well trust me I'm gonna remember our experience the rest of my I love you that's great I'm just I guess I owe you one it I think it shows that you can find positive in every situation I mean as ugly is and I'm sure it was a difficult path that's all to go through but they're you you looked at the positive side of it and it changed your life he goes out he gives him the opportunity because we go through a lot of stuff as a cop every day the way you're like why do I even do this job though I guess a lot of these job lot more money I could do so much more but then we have those experiences like where you come up to him and tell him that I mean it's life-changing for both of ya boy again I can't I mean it's a my life there's no I mean there's there's you either look at it 1 2 is either this is gonna be the worst thing that ever happened to me and I'm gonna harbor resentment and Oh God the man was doing it he was doing his job and the job that he did changed my life and made my life better so why can't I be thankful why shouldn't you be thankful about that and what I love about you is you've owned up to everything but in this society we have a lot of people it's all constant want to blame somebody else oh it's his fault for this with that you said something very key we all make our own decisions we're responsible for our own decisions yeah there's peer pressure involved but at the end you're making the decision so I love that you're sitting here and you're owning the decisions you've made that's all you can do I mean at the end of the day I've got to shave my face in the mirror and are you proud of who you were or who you are right am i proud of what I've done no I'm not proud of what I've done all I can do is get past it and move forward so what are your goals now what's what's on the horizon for you even the world a better place than what I found it yeah repay somebody do something kind for somebody else be that person that I want to be and be that help anyway if this helps somebody then then I did what I was supposed to and I'll tell you what I'm getting ready we just had a meeting before this meeting where we're talking about a new program that I'm rolling out here in Pinal County it's a Sheriff's Office redirection program and the goal is to take kids that are either getting in trouble or kids that need some mentorship in their life and honestly I'd love to have you come out at one play at some point and speak to doesn't be more than happy to talk to let me kick it off in January of 2019 but I would love to get you and people that share similar experiences I would honestly love that both human and to have the kids be able to talk to both you to see the different perspectives and how in the end it was a positive experience even though that night he could have gone home and likewise he could have harbored some when I Circle Cal is going to get I think it's good for kids to hear that you know hopefully the adults that are out there listening realize it's not too late to change I mean like you said it's been a year in six months this is a change you made late in your 30s yeah so it's never too late to change no it is it never is if somebody would have thought I mean I probably never would have skipped out on the party but definitely we would have done things a little bit different that people who have been paying attention and that's the thing is pay attention to parents pay attention yeah parents friends pay attention teachers pay attention it's it takes a village like pay attention yeah you're right and this because I mean this oh yeah it could have it somebody could have stopped this along well before I turned 40 and it said you know this was the third DUI oh yes all third and it took it took some time to get through oh yeah oh yeah and that's the thing and tell your and until you have something that is absolutely the one thing that you think is your I don't want to lose this and for me it was work yeah I didn't want to lose my job I didn't that's who I didn't find myself so whatever it is that defines you or that you used to define yourself until that is about to be taken away sometimes people don't wake up I just wish I would have woke up a lot earlier mm-hmm good job done yeah thank you and how much of time did you spend to my fine establishment well thank you for not serving the land no bags when people say all the time they'll say do I get any special treatment is this - get-out-of-jail-free card I'll buy no but I will give you three square meals a day yes game with tunic on and thought wasn't come from oh yeah it's funny because I'll go into the jello people say wow the food socks or the beds are hard it's cold at night and I'm like this ain't the hill no man I don't want you to come oh yeah I'm not creating a Bobo yeah I will treat and I hope you saw this that we we treat everybody that comes in there obviously I have a responsibility especially if you haven't been actually found guilty yet we treat everybody with respect but I don't want you to come back no you're in jail yeah this is the jail yeah you know you're in jail yeah yeah it seems I mean that if you those of you that have never been I don't recommend going unless it's to drop off somebody like money on somebody's books and then I hate going drop people off going to their what I'll take I was in your fine establishment for ten days and then I was on house arrest for what 11 or 13 at Wow yeah honestly my hat goes off to you again for making these changes thank you I appreciate that company back Elaine any last advice for everybody out there as we get into this holiday season for it's not worth to drive safe call it uber call lyft call a friend there's so many opportunities for you to to avoid the circumstance and we're gonna be out there I know Pinal County the guys who go out there every weekend they're gonna be hitting hard and eventually you'll get caught if you don't change your ways yeah David any last advice I just said yeah reiterate call a friend call them an uber it's I'm being part of the parties one thing but don't yeah don't let don't let your good time ruin somebody's life and I can tell you everybody we want everybody to enjoy a happy holiday season but we will protect the streets yes and if you are caught under the influence of alcohol and net and it's not just alcohol anymore like I said 60% of the duis we come across now our drug related so that xanax that's sohmas percocet that's marijuana is a big one so please folks enjoy this holiday season don't Mar it with a DUI or don't put anybody else's life or your life at risk so thank you both for being here today I thought this was awesome and baked your flesh it's really a tribute to both of you for the job that you did and for the changes you made in your life so god bless everybody have a hoppy hop happy holiday season and we'll see you next week