I am all for kids learning from experience. Kids are sponges and pick up on every nuance. Getting the idea that drinking alcohol is both stupid and dangerous is very important.
As part of staying sober and healthy programs police officers around the country give talks at both middle and high schools. Here is the case where one went terribly wrong!
Joseph Gaeta, a 31-year-old police officer from Midland, New Jersey volunteered to get tipsy during a police class to illustrate the perils of drunk-driving. It sounds like a stupid idea and it only gets worse.
According to NorthJersey.com Gaeta later became a real-life example when he crashed a four-wheeler and was arrested for driving while intoxicated.
The Class
He was the controlled drinking subject in a DWI class at the Bergen County Police Academy in Mahwah Thursday morning, police said. He was given controlled amounts of alcohol during the presentation, allowing officers to see his response to sobriety tests while sober and then again after he was drunk. Unbelievably, the demonstration allowed Gaeta to reach a blood alcohol level of .13 percent during the class, after which another officer drove him home.
Never one to heed his own advice, Gaeta then hopped on a four-wheel ATV vehicle and promptly crashed while attempting a right turn about a quarter of a mile from his home, and sustained serious facial injuries.
As the result of his DUI behavior Gaeta was in serious but stable condition and was scheduled to have surgery Friday for significant facial injuries.
This seems like a dumb idea in the first place. A good online alcohol class should be mandatory for all teens at least once per year!