Illinois 'Top Cop' relishes arresting drunken drivers

NEW LENOX, Ill. -- Mike Geils considers his job a success if he never sees a repeat customer.

"Ninety-nine percent of the people I stop I will never see again," the New Lenox man said. "This is their wake-up call."

Geils' special skill is noticing drunk drivers.

Geils, a deputy with the Will County sheriff's police, has perfected the art. Geils was recently honored as a "Top Cop" by the Illinois Department of Transportation for issuing 109 DUI citations last year. The award is given to the 25 police officers in the state who collected the most drunken driving arrests.

Geils, a father of two girls and a 13-year veteran of the force, was the only winner from Chicago's southern suburbs. The award netted another prize: a $3,300 camera that will be mounted inside one of the department squad cars to monitor roadside arrests.

"Mike feels very strongly about the effects drunken driving has on society," said Lt. Ray Horwath, head of the traffic division for the Will County sheriff's police. "It is something he has a passion for."

For all the attention drunken driving has generated the past 20 years or so, the offense still is viewed as the equivalent of grunt work by many officers. Almost always, DUIs generate lots of paperwork. They also require annoying trips to court for testimony. And the arrests rarely are glamorous.

"None of them are in the paper, except the high-profile ones," Geils said. "They are just everyday ones -- the guy coming home from the bar, the girl coming home from the party."

But Geils noticed that he possessed a special ability to recognize offenders. That skill was honed working the overnight shift patrolling the roads around Frankfort, New Lenox and Mokena.

A former partner, James Rouse, also passed along a few tricks.

There are some arrests that Geils will never forget.

One man stopped by Geils said he could not possibly be drunk, he only drank 11 beers. Another driver came to a halt after veering off the road and plowing through several yards.

Some faces have become familiar, and Geils regards repeat offenders as a special hazard.