‘Morindans Battling The Bottle, Each Other, Police

We were going to lift up that big rug stuff gets swept under in Lamorinda and pass over the mega-hangovers some locals seem committed to lately, thinking that if you choose to indulge in demon rum and knock yourself silly in the process – that’s your business as long as you’re not hurting anyone else, right?

But a series of recent incidents – starting with a well-fueled hit and run DUI and rolling Anger Management session in Moraga Saturday – has convinced us otherwise as area police have had to cuff, counsel and restrain neighbors succumbing to the effects of their favorite libation.

That Moraga incident caught our attention because it was mobile, carried on for blocks with at least one neighbor/victim/witness following along behind a battered Mercedes after it struck a couple of parked cars and a retaining wall on Draeger Drive before scraping away with bits of metal falling off and ending with two locals cuffed and detained by police.

Unusual, but it happens sometimes, and then the Jungle Drums started going off as the damaged Mercedes crawled to a home on Kingsford Drive – its operator apparently trying to make it inside while witnesses and police pulled up behind the offending Benz.

A man and woman were ultimately cuffed up and removed from that location – again unusual for little Moraga but it was a festive afternoon so we covered developments via our Flash Alert system, thinking that would be it.

We were wrong – also unusual but it happens.

Police in Orinda were called out early Tuesday morning after a gentleman was observed in the arms of Bacchus and apparently unable to care for himself, refusing to use the PAS device and apparently unable to stand.

When contacted at 8 a.m. Tuesday, he told officers at the scene he’d been drinking all night and was eventually taken to the hospital due to his level of intoxication.

We let it go, thinking he wasn’t behind the wheel and was apparently doing harm only to himself – which is unfortunate but still his choice – until we were asked about the incident and informed the gentleman had left an alarming amount of blood behind.

The Neighborhood Radar pulsed again early this (Wednesday) morning, when reports of an apparently alcohol-fueled disagreement near the Moraga County Club again brought police on the run, one party abandoning the home to wait for police while a woman – reportedly very unhappy – remained inside until officers showed up, giving them a warm welcome upon their arrival and carrying on a spirited rear-guard action until police were forced to use restraints to keep her under control.

Charges of disorderly conduct, resisting and battery are pending, apparently.

Incidents like this are not totally uncommon, even here in MoRinda, but resistance levels to everything but the effects of the alcohol appear to be going up and folks are feeling combative. We would hope our neighbors see the light before it dawns on them in a jail cell – things don’t get more uncomfortable than that. Trust us.