Did you think Fresno police went too far with their recent sting on drunk drivers?

An Associated Press article by Jim Vertuno tells of a new approach in Texas to crack down on drunks in bars:
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is sending undercover officers into bars to look for the exceedingly drunk, issuing citations or making arrests for public intoxication even if the patrons haven’t left the building.

The program is aimed at reducing drunken driving. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Texas had 1,264 alcohol-related traffic fatalities in 2004, the most in the nation.
The crackdown is aimed not only at those who are drunk, but at the bars and bartenders who continue to serve them. So far, it has resulted in about 2,200 arrests or citations around the state.

Bar patrons there reacted in much the same way as those here in Fresno:

“This almost seems like entrapment,” said Greg Turnbow, on a business trip from Nashville, Tenn. “If somebody’s in a bar causing trouble, they should be arrested.” But the crackdown struck him as “just too much.”

The Texas bar patrons may be approached if an officer spots them behaving erratically, such as having difficulty walking or standing. The officer will perform a field sobriety test similar to one for drunken drivers. A patron may also be asked to take a breath test.

Most people who take the breath test have a blood alcohol level of .17 or higher, said agency spokeswoman Carolyn Beck. “These people who are being arrested are really drunk,” she said. “We’re not going up to random people.”

The Fresno Police Department recently retooled its sting efforts, taking the undercover officers out of the bars after a community outcry here. But maybe they can look to Texas’ example for ways to get back to the source of the problem.