Horton Is Inducted Into The 2022 DUI 100 Club
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Water Valley police officer Jakirio Horton holds a certificate of recognition for being inducted into the 2022 DUI 100 Club. Governor Tate Reeves signed the certificate, recognizing the officer’s contributions to serve and protect the citizens.
WATER VALLEY – A three-year veteran of the Water Valley Police Department was inducted into the state’s 2022 DUI 100 Club. Officer Jakirio Horton was among law enforcement officers across Mississippi honored at the annual DUI 100 Club luncheon on August 18 in Jackson. To be eligible for the club, an officer must write a minimum of 50 DUI citations during a calendar year. Horton wrote 79 citations in the city in 2022.
Horton has specialized training for DUI enforcement that includes Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) and Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE). While Horton feels a strong duty to help save lives and keep the roadways in the city safe, his calling stems from his time in the military when all-too-often he saw the life-changing effects of impaired driving.
“It’s not about numbers,” Horton told the Herald. “A lot of people ask me why this is what I do. It goes back to my time in the military when I saw so many people lose careers due to driving intoxicated.”
This really hit home for Horton when a long-time friend who served with him in the Navy crashed while intoxicated, sustaining serious injuries and killing another motorist.
“I told him, he could have just called me for a ride. I would have picked him up. I worked nights and was awake,” Horton recalled.
Horton added that his job is not about punishing a driver, but hopefully to change behaviors. Citing an example, he pointed to a driver who was detained at a driver’s safety checkpoint in the city for driving while intoxicated. Making matters worse, the driver had children in the vehicle.
“This person had been driving impaired for years and had never been caught. I got that person off the street and they went through the court process. The driver came back to me five months later and thanked me for doing my job,” Horton recalled. “You got me on the straight and narrow,” the driver told Horton.
Horton is a native of Coffeeville. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy after graduating from Coffeeville High School and served active duty for 12 years. He currently serves in the U.S. Navy Reserve in addition to working as a police officer. Horton was in Jacksonville, Fla. for summer training and missed the luncheon. Water Valley Police Chief Jason Mangrum accepted the award on behalf of his officer.
“To my knowledge, officer Horton is the first officer in Water Valley to be inducted into the state’s DUI 100 Club.
This shows his dedication to the public and a strong desire to lower the fatality rate on Mississippi roadways,” Mangrum told the Herald.
Mangrum also explained that Horton handles routine calls, just as any other officer on the department.
“He is not dedicated to DUI enforcement like officers in larger departments, but his specialized training and commitment leads to frequent DUI citations,” the chief added. “He also assists other officers with DUI investigation, but probably over 65 percent of his citations stem from stops he makes.”
Mangrum said each citation entails an estimated eight hours of work including multiple trips to municipal court.
Horton’s brother, Aquarius Phillips, is also a Water Valley police officer. He serves as a school resource officer for the Water Valley School District.
