Montgomery County's dedicated impaired-driving enforcement unit is gone. Its officers are being reassigned to fill vacancies elsewhere in the department.

Assistant Chief David McBain confirmed the disbanding of the Alcohol Initiatives Unit (AIU) to Montgomery Community Media on Monday, Aug. 31. The change takes effect as Labor Day weekend begins, the first major holiday without a standing DUI unit on county roads.

McBain cited reduced staffing levels among sworn officers and the department's operational needs. AIU officers will move into open positions in the Centralized Traffic Unit, the Crisis Response & Support Unit and the School Resources Unit.

"The positions currently assigned to AIU will be utilized to fill vacant positions within the department," McBain said.

The shift means DUI enforcement in Montgomery County will no longer come from a year-round, dedicated unit. Instead, the department will rely on seasonal task forces and periodic checkpoints.

McBain said the Holiday Alcohol Task Force will deploy over Labor Day weekend, and the Summer Alcohol Task Force will continue. Checkpoints staffed by MCPD and regional law enforcement partners will also remain on the calendar.

NBC4 Washington first reported the unit's disbanding on Friday, Aug. 28.

MCPD staffing vacancies at 15%

The AIU closure is the latest consequence of a department-wide staffing shortage. MCPD is authorized for 1,275 sworn officers. As of a November 2025 briefing to a county council committee, vacancy rates had reached 15% department-wide and 19% in patrol, Fox 5 DC reported. The department said at that time it needed 103 patrol officers to balance coverage.

A separate WJLA report on the staffing crisis cited a county council finding that roughly 14% of officer positions remain unfilled. Officers eligible to retire within three years jumped from 48 to 71, according to that report.

Wrong-way crash on I-270 kills two

On Saturday, Aug. 29, a wrong-way driver struck a Toyota Camry head-on along Interstate 270 near Democracy Boulevard in Bethesda, killing two passengers. Maryland State Police said investigators believe impairment "may be a contributing factor," according to WTOP. The crash closed southbound lanes for about five hours.

That crash, investigated by state police rather than MCPD, occurred two days after the AIU disbanding was first reported. No public statements from Montgomery County Council members on the unit's closure appeared in county records or news coverage as of Aug. 31.

Residents who want to report impaired driving can call MCPD's non-emergency line at (240) 773-6620 or dial 911 in an emergency.