Blood to be drawn from DWI suspects
This article outlines a pilot program being operated out of El Paso.
Some highlights from the article:
The procedure:
- After a DWI arrest, the arrestee will be taken for a breath test at the police Central Regional Command Center. If the arrestee refuses to take the breath test in a videotaped statement, a prosecutor will request a search warrant for blood from a judge.
- If the judge at the police station approves the warrant, a nurse paid for by the Police Department will draw a blood sample at Tillman Health Center, which is operated by the city and is behind the police station.
The process:
The blood will be sent to Texas Department of Public Safety lab for blood-alcohol results, which will arrive in around a month. The suspect would still be jailed on a DWI test-refusal charge.
The motivation:
...more than half of the 50 traffic deaths in El Paso this year involved drunken drivers. And about 50 percent of people arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated refuse to take the breath test, making prosecution more difficult.
El Paso police made 2,071 arrests for driving while intoxicated last year.
The caveat:
The search warrant for blood process "creates significant constitutional issues," Weiser said. "What's the next step? We take blood from somebody. What's the next step?"
"It really infringes on a person's right to privacy, particularly someone who may not have been drinking," Weiser said.
My own view on this issue is that DUI is a serious crime. Too many people lose their lives (or their livelihood) as a result of intoxicated drivers. This needs to stop, and it isn't a case of simply telling people to "just stop drinking and driving." Alcoholism is a disease. Alcohol impairs judgement. Alcohol can kill. If we cannot prevent the loss of lives with an imperfect breathalyzer system, then why not go to mandatory blood tests? Do we not make exceptions for those who break the law where lives are at risk? I don't think this is an issue of Big Brother extending his influence over the public; this is policing and the legal system wishing to use a trump card against a nagging problem: Families being destroyed by drunk driving.
They need to work around the constitutional and privacy issues and find what good can come out of the blood tests. Seriously, 50 deaths in one city alone. What else can we do to solve this problem?