CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Two Clearlake residents were arrested late last week in a police operation targeting those purchasing alcohol for minors.
Shawn Kossow and Lourdes Torres were arrested, issued citations and released during the “shoulder tap” operation that occurred on Friday, June 14, according to a report from officer Aaron Winslow of the Clearlake Police Department.
Winslow said that on June 14 Clearlake Police officers conducted shoulder tap operations at various businesses in Clearlake.
Shoulder tap operations are law enforcement programs that the Alcoholic Beverage Control and local law enforcement agencies use to deter and detect alcohol related crimes involving the sale/ furnishing of alcoholic beverages to minors, police reported.
During the operations, police said a minor is used as a decoy to solicit the purchase of alcoholic beverages from an adult. Operations are conducted outside ABC-licensed businesses.
During the operation, numerous people were contacted by the minor decoy and two arrests – those of Kossow and Torres – were made by Clearlake Police officers for criminal violations involving the furnishing of alcohol to minors, Winslow said.
This project is part of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s Minor Decoy/ Shoulder Tap Grant Project, funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.