EL CERRITO, Calif. — El Cerrito Police Officer Will Sepe has been recognized by Mothers Against Drunk Driving after making 27 DUI arrests in 2025, according to a department-authored announcement published by the Contra Costa Herald.
Sepe received the recognition during the 2026 MADD Law Enforcement and Prosecutor Recognition Awards Ceremony at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville on July 9. The El Cerrito Police Department said the honor reflects his work removing suspected impaired drivers from local roads and helping prevent impaired-driving crashes.
Twenty-seven arrests clear MADD recognition threshold
The department’s announcement says MADD’s 23152 Pin Award is presented to sworn officers who make at least 25 DUI arrests in a single year. Sepe cleared that threshold with 27 arrests during 2025.
An arrest is not a conviction, and ThinBlueNews is not drawing conclusions about any individual case included in that annual total. The public recognition concerns Sepe’s documented enforcement activity and the traffic-safety purpose described by his department.
The agency also explained that the pin’s red color symbolizes victims of impaired-driving crashes as well as officers killed or injured in those collisions. MADD’s annual program recognizes law-enforcement officers, prosecutors, probation personnel, first responders and volunteers for work connected to impaired-driving prevention and victim support, according to the department announcement.
A public-safety effort measured before a crash happens
DUI enforcement is preventive work: its value is often measured in a dangerous trip stopped before it becomes a collision. El Cerrito Police described each impaired driver removed from the road as a potential life saved and thanked Sepe for his dedication to public safety.
The ceremony photo shows Sepe holding his award alongside El Cerrito Police leadership in front of a MADD backdrop reading “Impaired Driving Ends Here.” It depicts the actual recognition event, not a traffic stop, arrest or crash scene.
The City of El Cerrito’s official Police Department page identifies the agency and provides its public safety, records and community-service information. ThinBlueNews found no prior article about Sepe’s award in its local archive before publication.
Sources and image attribution
- Contra Costa Herald: “El Cerrito Police Officer honored with MADD Award,” published July 17, 2026. The report reproduces the El Cerrito Police Department’s announcement and identifies the department as the author.
- City of El Cerrito: official Police Department page.
- El Cerrito Police Department ceremony photograph published by the Contra Costa Herald.
Featured-image note: ThinBlueNews used the real El Cerrito Police Department ceremony photograph published with the department-authored announcement. The image was fitted into a 1200-by-630 news layout with a factual headline panel and prominent source credit. It does not depict a DUI arrest or crash. Copyright remains with the credited source; ThinBlueNews claims no ownership of the underlying photograph.
If an agency representative, honoree or reader sees anything that should be corrected or updated, please contact ThinBlueNews through our corrections and editorial standards page.