Jones Co. passes Public Impairment Ordinance

     Jones County now has a new ordinance as part of the county’s Public Order, Safety & Health Ordinance.

     The Public Impairment Ordinance was approved by the Board of Supervisors during their July 11 meeting, presented by Jones County Sheriff Greg Graver and Anamosa Police Chief Bob Simonson. (Monticello Police Chief Britt Smith was unable to attend the meeting.)

     The purpose of the ordinance “is to protect the interest, welfare, health, and safety of the citizens in Jones County by prohibiting the impairment of persons located in public by alcoholic beverages, controlled substances or other drugs.”

     “This (suggestion) came to us from officers on the street,” Graver told the board of the proposed ordinance. “It’s more of a reactionary step.”

     Graver said when law enforcement see someone intoxicated with a substance in their system and acting out in public, past experience has been to arrest and charge them with public intoxication.

     “However,” he said, “the court recently ruled that it only applies to alcohol.” He said there are other substances one could have in his/her system.

     The Public Impairment Ordinance would now cover controlled substances or prescription drugs.

     In piecing this ordinance together, Graver said local law enforcement and County Attorney Phil Parsons reviewed ordinances from other jurisdictions. They made tweaks to the language to fit Jones County.

     “We don’t anticipate a large volume of arrests coming out of this,” he warned. “It just fills the gaps of what we used public intoxication for.”

     Simonson said the Anamosa Police had an incident recently where a subject had “a buffet of controlled substances in their system” while behind the wheel of a vehicle.

     “There was no alcohol involved,” prefaced Simonson. “But people like this are a hazard to others and themselves. A lot are violent.”

     He said in this case, the male subject drove through the front door of Walmart in Anamosa with substances in his system.

     With no alcohol in his system, Simonson said it’s good to now have something on the books to charge someone with.

     “It closes the loop hole,” added Graver.

     This new ordinance will apply to all of Jones County, including municipalities.

     Mike Davies of Anamosa questioned how an officer would determine whether someone was impaired or not.

     “The signs are the same across the board with alcohol,” said Graver. “It’s the testing that’s different.”

     In determining whether someone has alcohol in their system, an officer might administer a breath test. In the case of drugs, Graver said Jones County has Drug Recognition Officer Tim Smith on hand.

     “Tim can help determine the classification of drugs used in the impairment, and whether they’re legal or illegal,” explained Graver. He said urine tests could also determine the toxicology.

     In the case of prescription drugs, Graver said, “Doctors never prescribe medications to make you impaired.” He said in this case, people take more than they are prescribed or hit up multiple doctors for more of the same prescription, making them impaired.

     Davies said in some instances, someone might experience an adverse reaction to a prescription drug, also making that person impaired.

     “We can tell if someone took a normal dose and is having an adverse reaction,” clarified Simonson. “We’re not interested in arresting people with allergic reactions.”

     “There are multiple steps in place to weed out people with medical issues,” added Graver.

     The board thanked the local law enforcement for bringing this issue to their attention.