The sugary sweet aroma of rum and Coke spread through the front cab of Idaho State Police Trooper Sam Ketchum's patrol car as a handcuffed motorist in the back seat exhaled into a hand-held breathalyzer.

The 39-year-old Nampa man was one of 12 people charged with DUI on a recent Friday night by a group of Boise-area troopers, including a new four-member DUI Strike Team launched in October.

Five of the 12 arrested were repeat offenders, including a 22-year-old who had an open beer in his Jeep and whose blood-alcohol content was measured at more than twice the legal limit.

It was a busy night at the Ada County Jail, with a half dozen officers from different departments, including Boise police and the Ada County Sheriff's Office, waiting in line to book arrestees into the jail.

These officers are on the front line in the fight against drunk driving. Some of the drivers they pull over for sobriety tests look only a little tipsy, while others have severely slurred speech and can barely stand.

Most DUI arrests take about 90 minutes to complete from start to finish, including sobriety field tests, measuring blood-alcohol levels and booking the suspects into jail. During the 15-minute wait before troopers administer breathalyzer tests, suspects listen to a 5-minute CD explaining their legal rights.

Detailed incident records are critical for prosecution, so Ketchum carefully writes up his reports after each incident.

On one recent night, Ketchum rattled off a series of questions to a driver he had stopped for making an improper lane change.

"Have you ever had a DUI before?" Ketchum asked.

"No, and I've never been handcuffed before," said the driver, a man from Nampa. He only had one beer that night, the man said. But his breath reeked of alcohol, his eyes were glassy and red, and he was wobbly during field sobriety tests.

"I don't feel drunk," he said, and begged the trooper to give him a break.

In Idaho, a person is legally drunk when his or her blood-alcohol content is .08. The Nampa man's was between a .12 and .13.

Busted by the breathalyzer, the driver admitted he had "a couple Captains"- or rum and Coke drinks - before that "one beer" he mentioned earlier. Ketchum said the 175-pound man had to have imbibed about seven drinks to blow a .13.

"Can I cry now?" the man asked. Ketchum, a burly, imposing man with a bald pate, tried to calm him. "Everyone makes mistakes."

Ironically, the friend who came to help the Nampa man showed up with booze on his breath and blew a .12 on the breathalyzer, earning him handcuffs and a seat in the trooper's Dodge Charger.

"I had a couple drinks and was getting ready for bed," the friend said. "I thought I was OK. I guess not."

Ketchum said it was the first time during his nine years as an ISP trooper that he had arrested two DUI suspects at once.

Then another friend showed up to help the first two. He was driving on a suspended license due to unpaid parking tickets, not DUI.

Ketchum ended his night with two more DUI arrests before his 10-hour shift ended at 5 a.m. He stopped and gave verbal warnings to several drivers who were speeding or driving erratically on the Connector.

And he chased a Jeep that flew by at 75 mph. The 22-year-old driver with blood-shot eyes who smelled of alcohol blew between a .19 and a .179 on the breathalyzer.

When he realized he'd be charged with his second DUI offense and might lose his job, which involves driving, the Meridian man became emotional. He talked about his personal problems, including a wife who he believes is cheating on him.

"I can't stop drinking," he said, saying he thought he drank two 18-packs of beer. "It makes everything go away."

Ketchum's fourth arrest of the night was a repeat offender who blew a .14 - or what another ISP officer called "drunk and a half."

"I don't know what the fix is. I honestly don't," Ketchum said. "I'm a stern believer in punishment. It works for my kids, and it worked for me growing up."

Those who drive drunk frustrate Ketchum on several levels.

"It's not just DUI. It's society in general," he said. "We don't care unless it personally affects us. And maybe that's not entirely true. But, for the most part, it doesn't matter what subject you pick - crime, politics, whatever - people don't care unless it personally affects them."

He said many people don't realize how close they come to being victims.

"People drive drunk because the chance of getting caught is 1 in 10," he said. "So how many people went out drinking last night? The chances of getting caught is slim to none."

Ketchum is an advocate for stiffer penalties and more officers on the street, something he said the general public must advocate to change by pressuring elected officials to change laws and provide more money for law enforcement and prosecution.

In the meantime, Ketchum and the other officers don their uniforms and hit the streets. Ketchum said he chose this type of police work for one simple reason: He is saving someone's life, either that of the drunken driver or the person he or she has yet to hit.

"I get frustrated, don't get me wrong. Everyone of us has a breakdown and asks, 'What the hell is wrong with the system?' " he said. "But it's my job to get them off the road. It's the prosecutors' job to get them in the system."

Katy Moeller: 377-6413