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<\/p>\nMore than 8,800 DWI-related cases have been filed in Harris County this year as agencies ramp up enforcement for Labor Day weekend.<\/p>\n
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas \u2014 Law enforcement agencies across Harris County are joining forces to crack down on drunk driving during the Labor Day holiday weekend.<\/p>\n
All eight Harris County constables’ offices, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Houston Police, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and Texas DPS are taking part in the enforcement effort.<\/p>\n
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Their message to drivers is simple: Have a plan before you drink.<\/p>\n
Officials are urging people to use a designated driver, take a rideshare or find another safe way home if they’ve been drinking.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement officers will be out in full force during the holiday weekend. Prosecutors and judges will also be stationed and ready to sign warrants and prosecute drivers.<\/p>\n
\n8,857 DWI cases filed in Harris County this year <\/p>\n
The Labor Day enforcement effort comes as Harris County is already seeing thousands of DWI-related cases.<\/p>\n
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said it has filed 8,857 DWI cases through the first eight months of 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery drunk driving crash starts with a decision\u2026 no family deserves to live through somebody else\u2019s actions, and this is a clear message that we intend to do something about it,\u201d Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen said.<\/p>\n
\nFamilies share the impact of drunk driving <\/p>\n
Among those joining the warning ahead of Labor Day weekend are Lynn and Chris McMullin, whose son Joseph McMullin was killed by a convicted drunk driver in 2023.<\/p>\n
Joseph was walking on a sidewalk after a first date at Voodoo Donuts when he was hit.<\/p>\n
“Over 70 miles an hour when she clipped Joe on a sidewalk and destroyed everything about his body and destroyed our lives,” Lynn McMullin said.<\/p>\n
His parents are now using their family’s tragedy to educate others about the impact of driving while intoxicated.<\/p>\n
“I wish he was here. I much rather he be here than me, trying to carry the message forward for him,” Lynn McMullin said.<\/p>\n
Rosen said the family’s experience shows the consequences of the crime.<\/p>\n
“You\u2019ve heard a family be devastated by this crime and it doesn\u2019t hit more than that,” he said.<\/p>\n
Charisse Thomas also knows the consequences of drunk driving. A drunk driver killed her 18-year-old daughter, Destiny, on a Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
“My heart is still shattered. I lost a piece of me through something that could\u2019ve been prevented,” she said.<\/p>\n
\nDWI enforcement planned throughout Labor Day weekend <\/p>\n
Officers from the participating agencies will be out through the holiday weekend watching for impaired drivers.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement officials are asking anyone who plans to drink to make arrangements before heading out, whether that means choosing a designated driver, using a rideshare or finding another safe way to get home.<\/p>\n
The McMullins said everyone has a responsibility to help prevent people from driving while intoxicated. They also want tougher penalties for people who get behind the wheel after drinking.<\/p>\n
“I would like to see legislation toughen up these laws people get arrested,” Chris McMullin said.<\/p>\n
The woman who killed Joseph is serving time in jail. Lynn McMullin said the driver had other options and hopes sharing her son’s story can prevent another family from experiencing the same loss.<\/p>\n
“This person had options and she chose not to seek them. All I can do now is try to stop someone else for making the same decision she did,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 8,800 DWI-related cases have been filed in Harris County this year as agencies ramp up enforcement…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":428230,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57],"class_list":["post-428229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}