Crime & Safety

Norfolk County Says "Be A Hero"

Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey and are police chiefs launch county-wide "Ensign John R. Elliott Be A HERO Campaign" against drunk driving.

The following is a press release issued by the Norfolk County District Attorney's office.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey was joined by more than half of his county’s police chiefs at Patriot Place on Nov. 2 to launch the "Be A Norfolk County Hero" designated driver campaign with Bill and Muriel Elliott, who lost their son to a drunk driver.

The Elliotts founded the Ensign John R. Elliott HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers in 2003 after their son was killed by a drunk driver as he headed home to celebrate his mother’s birthday in 2000. John had just graduated from the United States Naval Academy and was set to train as a naval flight officer.

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The District Attorney financed an alcohol server training session this morning that drew more than 60 owners and managers from establishments across Norfolk County at the Showcase Live at Patriot Place. At the close of the training, the Elliotts talked to the crowd about their son, his death, and the campaign that carries his name.

“Instead of cursing the darkness, we wanted to make a difference,” Bill Elliott said. “We want to make use of a designated driver as automatic as using a seatbelt.”

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“The message we are sending to the public,” Muriel Elliott said, “is that you are a hero when you save someone’s life.”

The drunk driver who killed their son had been arrested earlier in the day and bailed out by a friend, the Elliotts said. Rather than drive him all the way home from the police station, that friend dropped him off where his vehicle had been left so that he could drive again. Less than an hour later, John was dead.

The Elliotts live in the Atlantic City, New Jersey area, and more than 150 Jersey Shore bars currently participate in the program, which has bar managers or servers asking groups of patrons “Who is going to be the HERO tonight,” then offering a BE A HERO wristband and a free soft drink to whoever volunteers to be the designated sober driver for the group. “The only cost to the establishment is to display a poster or a sticker for the campaign and maybe to serve a free soft drink,” Mr. Elliott said. NFL stadiums, including Patriot Stadium, have also joined the program

District Attorney Morrissey said that there were more than 60 drunk driving fatalities and serious bodily injuries in NorfolkCounty last year. “One is too many, and we had more than one a week,” Morrissey said. “We are trying to lower those numbers, both working with those who serve alcohol and joining the Elliotts in their work targeting those who consume it.”

“Every establishment at Patriot Place that serves liquor has joined the HERO Campaign,” said District Attorney Morrissey. “This season, the Patriots set the high water mark for the number of designated drivers at their home games. There are a good number of HEROS already in Norfolk County, and we hope that this initiative will build their numbers as it decreases the number of drunk drivers.”

Businesses that participated in Nov. 2, 2012 Alcohol Service Training:

  • Halfway Café, Dedham
  • Auld Sod Pub, Dedham
  • Big Jim’s Liquor, Avon
  • Saphire Event Group, Sharon
  • Jake & Joe’s, Norwood
  • Oishii, Chestnut Hill
  • Concannon’s Village, Norwood
  • Quincy Jade, Quincy
  • CBS Scene, Foxborough
  • Patriots Place Management, Foxborough
  • Irish Cultural Centre, Canton
  • Lakeview Pavilion, Foxborough
  • Showcase Cinemas, Randolph
  • Showcase Cinemas, Legacy Place
  • Lewis’ Bar & Grille, Norwood
  • Workmen’s Hall of Norwood, Norwood
  • PHO Countryside, Quincy
  • Kings, Dedham
  • Olde Colonial Café, Norwood
  • Tedeschi’s # 339, Squantum, North Quincy
  • Red Robin, Foxborough
  • Brookmeadow Country Club, Canton
  • The Lodge Bar, Randolph
  • Plainridge Racecourse, Plainville
  • VFW Post 2017, Dedham
  • Toby Keith’s, Foxborough
  • Blue Fin Lounge, Foxborough
  • Midway Restaurant, Dedham
  • BayState Wine & Spirits, Norwood
  • O’Donnell’s, Randolph


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