MADD names Stamford officer Top Cop in state
STAMFORD — With 26 arrests last year, the city’s top drunk- and druggeddriving enforcer, Capt. Diedrich Hohn, has been given the Top Cop Award by the Connecticut Chapter of Mother’s Against Drunk Driving.
Year in and year out, Hohn, a 26-year veteran of the department, has been the department’s No. 1 drunk driving hunter. Prior to last year, he racked up more than 40 driving-under-the-infuence arrests for five years in a row.
He received the statewide award during the organization’s 32nd annual law enforcement recognition ceremony at Mohegan Sun held Monday night.
Along with Hohn, threeyear officer Jillian Moller was recoginzed for her efforts in the same area, with seven operating-under-the-influence arrests last year. Traffic Unit Supervisor Sgt. Jeffrey Booth was also recognized for his efforts in education, training and enforcement.
“It is a big honor,” Hohn, 50, said. “I try to lead by example, and I try to mentor the new officers like Jill and she has really stepped up.”
Police across the country have been the subject of frequent protests in recent months, but Hohn said everyone is behind getting impaired drivers off the road.
“Drunk driving cuts across every demographic, every age, every ethnicity and every gender,” he said. “When I get a civilian complaint about someone driving all over the road, no one should accuse you of discrimination when you are stopping someone for being impaired. It’s not about gender or race.
“It’s a safe arrest because everyone in the community will rally around what you are doing,” he said.
Hohn also serves on MADD’s Law Enforcement Council.
Stamford Police Chief Tim Shaw, who attended the ceremony with Hohn, said the captain spearheads enforcement efforts in the department and follows up with victims of accidents caused by drunk drivers.
“He serves a great purpose for the city and trains a lot of young officers in order to increase their awareness of drunk and drugged drivers,” Shaw said.
MADD Executive Director Bob Garguilo said Stamford should be proud to have Hohn on the police force.
“I think every young officer should look up to him,” he said. “We are very proud to honor him for the work he has done and the work he continues to do.”
He called Hohn “the epitome of what we see as our champions of MADD.”
“Not only is he working for the city of Stamford, but he is on our executive council and by doing so is going beyond his duties and is taking time to volunteer and make a difference in all of our lives,” Garguilo said.
Booth said he has seen the horrors of drunk and drugged driving since being put in charge of the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad.
“Every major crash and fatality that the squad has investigated this year has involved speed and alcohol,” he said. “Based on that we try to get out there and stop those impaired drivers before they hurt anybody. That is our main goal.”
Moller said she was grateful to be honored for doing work she is passionate about.
“I believe in keeping potential victims safer than they would be” otherwise, Moller said.
The arrests are not about getting drivers in trouble, she said. Many are made to complete programs that hopefully will change their lives, she said.
Hohn said looking for drunk drivers is a lot like looking for someone with a loaded gun.
“I have seen the horrors of operating under the influence, like what happened with Carrie Maturo,” he said, referring to the Darien woman who was paralyzed after a drunk driver crashed into her car in Stamford in 2017.
“That has changed her life forever. It is not just the deaths, but the lifealtering injuries.”