The Southwest Voice

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Bakersfield Police Officer Rex Davenport was honored with an award from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for his efforts in combating alcohol, drug and reckless driving by our local teens through a program call “A Life Interrupted.” Davenport received the award in March at a state-wide recognition ceremony in Sacramento. He has made over 35 presentations to more than 7,000 students and community member from September to December 2007 and has made an additional 25 presentations in our community since December.

A Life Interrupted started in 2002 in response to the increasing number of teen auto deaths. The presentation uses crash scene photos, 911 calls, detailed stories of the crashes and personal stories from parents of crash victims.

In addition to his regular patrol duties and his commitment to “A Life Interrupted,” Davenport has coordinated numerous DUI checkpoints and trains fellow officers to set up and run check points, as well.

Davenport, son of Dick and Pat Davenport, was born and raised in Bakersfield, is married and has one daughter. Davenport has a personal attachment to the program as he, too, lost a brother to an alcohol-related traffic collision.