South San Francisco, CA October 31, 2019 Submitted by SSFPD
On 10-24-2019, an alert South San Francisco Police Officer spotted a subject driving on Rockwood Drive whom he recognized as a DUI repeat offender from the Police Department’s DUI Hot List. The officer immediately stopped the driver, 61 year-old Michael Flippen from South San Francisco.
Flippen was found to be driving with a suspended driver’s license (four active suspensions from the Department of Motor Vehicles) and he did not have a court-ordered iginition-interlock device installed on his car as required by the court. Flippen is a DUI repeat-offender and has two prior convictions for driving while under the influence of alcohol and two convictions for driving with a suspended driver’s license. Flippen was also found to be in possession of a canister of pepper spray, which he is prohibited from possessing as a prior convicted felon. Flippen was also found to be driving with alcohol in his blood, in violation of his court probation.
Flippen was arrested for driving with a suspended driver’s license, driving without the court-ordered ignition interlock device, being a felon in possession of pepper spray, and driving with alcohol in his blood in violation of court probation. Flippen’s vehicle was towed, impounded, and is being held for 30days (subject to permanent forfeiture proceedings).
The South San Francisco Police Department works proactively with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Office of Traffic Safety on the DUI Hot List program. This is a program that identifies DUI repeat offenders with suspended driver’s licenses. A comprehensive list of information on the drivers is compiled and maintained at the Department. Patrol and Traffic officers are provided with the list and they routinely conduct open and/or undercover surveillance operations upon the drivers. Although not required, all drivers on the DUI Hot List are mailed informational notices about these surveillance operations and they are warned not to drive.
The South San Francisco Police Department also has a DUI Apprehension and Reduction (DART) team that routinely conducts enforcement and surveillance operations on the DUI Hot List offenders. Funding for part of these operations comes from a grant by the California Office of Traffic Safety.