B.A.T. Mobile Dedicated in Honor of Trooper Ellen Engelhardt

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On January 5, 2007, Colonel Mark F. Delaney, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, dedicated the Massachusetts State Police Breath Alcohol Testing (B.A.T.) Mobile to Trooper Ellen E. Engelhardt. The ceremony was held at the State Police Headquarters in Framingham.

The B.A.T. Mobile is used principally as a vehicle from which to run and coordinate sobriety checkpoints. It provides safety and convenience for the officers involved in the operation of a checkpoint. It possesses lighting towers that are utilized to illuminate a large area, and cameras to record a checkpoint's activities and sobriety tests. Without the B.A.T. Mobile, a trooper would have to go to a Barracks to perform many functions, and hence the trooper would be lost from the checkpoint. It could take up to four hours for a trooper to transport and process a subject and write a report. Such a process restricted the opportunity for the trooper to return to and staff a sobriety checkpoint which in turn limits the ability to remove additional impaired drivers from the roadways of the Commonwealth. Through the employment of the B.A.T. Mobile, processing times have been reduced to approximately one hour or less.

"Trooper Engelhardt continues to inspire the men and women of the State Police and other police forces, to remove dangerous drivers from the road and to send a strong message that alcohol and drug impaired driving is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.," said Colonel Delaney. Trooper Engelhardt's family was in attendance, and her daughter Lora Tedeman spoke at the event. She said "It is a great piece of technology." She went on to emphasize that: "Hopefully people will think before leaving home."

The B.A.T. Mobile was purchased with a grant from the Governor's Highway Safety Bureau (G.H.S.B.) and funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The G.H.S.B. is an essential supporter of state and local police partnerships. With G.H.S.B financial support, the State Police have partnered with many local departments in an effort to reduce impaired operator crashes by engaging in sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols. Since its delivery, the B.A.T. Mobile has been deployed at 20 checkpoints. One-hundred-and-fourteen impaired operators have been processed through the B.A.T. Mobile and removed form the roads of the Commonwealth.

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