'He is our top DUI officer'

Elburn Police Officer Jeff Herra (left) holds what looks like a flashlight, but is actually a passive alcohol sensor device, or PAS, which was donated to the department by the family of Sgt. Erich Schlachta (right).

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ELBURN – As early morning darkness envelopes his slumbering community, Officer Jeffrey Herra is wide awake and in search of alcohol-impaired drivers.

A typical scenario: Herra sees one, speeding and struggling to stay in his lane on Route 47 just after 3 a.m. In a moment, the driver is pulled over. Herra aims his flashlight at the suspect's face and asks, "Have you been drinking?"

The suspect answers no. And as soon as he's opened his mouth to proclaim his sobriety, Herra's flashlight has captured a blast of his breath. A fuel cell inside measures the presence of alcohol, which shows up on a bar graph on the handle.

The suspect is, in fact, drunk.

Herra calls for back up and proceeds to what police call a field sobriety test. An arrest soon follows.

Last fall, Herra was honored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for his dedication to arresting drunken driving suspects. Herra has been nominated for a Hometown Heroes award through the Fox River Chapter of the American Red Cross. The awards will be announced in March.

But what makes this officer unusual is that he recovered from a traumatic brain injury that left him without a sense of smell.

"He has adapted and compensated using all other visual cues and a new device – a passive alcohol sensor," Elburn Chief James Linane said. "He's our top DUI officer. And they're good arrests."

Herra made 59 of the 87 DUI arrests in 2006, 21 of the 29 DUI arrets in 2007 and unofficially, 30 of the 31 DUI arrests in 2008, according to police records.

The new technology fulfills a legal requirement of probable cause officers need in order to pull a driver over and do the field sobriety and Breathalyzer test before arrest. Herra still made DUI arrests, but the device helps with an on-the-spot alcohol analysis.

The department acquired the device in August 2007. By March of 2008, Linane said, Kane County courts ruled they would accept the new technology as a scientific measurement of the presence of alcohol.

"What he can't smell, another officer comes in as the smeller," Linane said.

That way, Herra's reports state he relied on the passive alcohol sensor while the second  report will state the officer smelled an odor of alcohol.

Herra was 26 when became injured at 2 a.m. Nov. 15, 2001, while working as a full-time officer at Northern Illinois University and a part-time officer in Elburn. While tackling a suspect who had run away from a car being pursued, Herra suffered a skull fracture when his head hit the concrete. Herra suffered a severe concussion with bleeding and swelling on his brain, remaining in a coma for five days at Rockford Memorial Hospital.

"It was touch and go," Linane said.

Herra said he was back on the streets in 3 1/2 months – despite dire predictions he would be out for at least a year and might never return to work. He returned to work and has been full time in Elburn since 2004.

Herra initially sought out the passive alcohol sensor technology to help him with DUI arrests.

A fellow officer, Erich Schlachta – now a sergeant and Herra's supervisor – had lost his sister in a drunken driving crash.

Schlachta's family wanted to support anything that would help remove impaired drivers from the road. They paid the $700 for the device so Herra could continue to make DUI arrests.

"This became my mother's personal crusade for the rest of her life," Schlachta said.

Noelle Schlachta was 21 when she died about 4 a.m. on April 30, 1989, on Illinois-90 near Hoffman Estates. She was coming home to St. Charles after visiting friends in Chicago, her brother said. Schlachta was 17 at the time of his sister's death.

An impaired driver – who later was found with a blood-alcohol content twice what was then the legal limit of .10 – sideswiped the rear of her car. The action thrust her over the guard rail, where she was hit by an oncoming semi and killed.

"Officer Herra brought this to my attention," Schlachta said of the passive alcohol sensor. "He had done the research. It was one of the things we could do for Noelle in her name. We could continue the effort for the prevention of DUI. It's a wonderful tool."

Being able to remove impaired drivers from the roads brings Herra a sense of satisfaction.

"When I get them off the street, nobody gets hurt or killed," Herra said. "At the end of the day, everyone gets to go home."

Noelle's mother, Geri Schlachta of St. Charles, said this spring will mark 20 years since her daughter's death.

Providing funds for the passive alcohol sensor was just one of many donations the family has given to the cause of DUI prevention.

"It has been a long journey," Schlatcha, 66, said. "We have always focused on getting drunk drivers off the road. All of our efforts and funds were donated in her name. I've told the chief [Linane] if you need anything else, just let us know."

• Note to readers: Herra is married to Daily Chronicle reporter Dana Herra. The Daily Chronicle is a sister publication of the Kane County Chronicle.