Americans should be furious, not numb, after learning a Pierce County woman was arrested repeatedly for driving intoxicated and back on the road within a day each time — until deputies finally forced the system’s hand. According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, the woman was detained after a Nov. 12 incident where she was seen huffing nitrous oxide in her car and later booked for physical control, yet she was out in 24 hours only to crash again days later.
The timeline is almost surreal: an arrest on Nov. 12, another crash and arrest on Nov. 15 after she took out a power pole in Fircrest, a third detention on Nov. 20 when she was found slumped over amid whippet canisters, and a fourth crash in Tacoma on Nov. 23 that totaled her vehicle. Each incident put citizens at risk while the same taxpayer-funded revolving door spat her back onto the streets.
This isn’t merely tragic — it’s proof that a “catch-and-release” culture empowered by soft policies endangers communities. Deputies repeatedly reached out to prosecutors to keep her off the road, and only after prosecutors issued two $50,000 DUI warrants on Nov. 24 was she arrested at her home on Nov. 26 to finally protect the public. Hard-working Americans deserve public safety, not permission slips for repeat offenders.
We should praise the deputies who kept pushing when the system hesitated — they kept showing up while communities were left to carry the risk. But praise alone is not a policy: prosecutors and judges must stop treating dangerous repeat DUI offenders like minor inconveniences and start treating them like what they are — ongoing threats. If the taxpayer-funded justice system won’t act, voters must demand officials who will prioritize the safety of law-abiding citizens over the politics of leniency.
Finally, while addiction is a real and heartbreaking problem and inhalants like nitrous oxide are indeed dangerous, compassion does not mean leaving innocent people vulnerable. We can insist on swift arrest, meaningful pretrial detention for high-risk repeat offenders, and court-ordered treatment as part of sentencing — not immediate release after a custody booking. Washington communities should take this case as a wake-up call: protect victims, back the police, and hold accountable anyone who repeatedly chooses to endanger others.
