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In an attempt to crack down on drunk drivers, Burleson police officers are taking DWI suspects to the hospital to have blood drawn if they refuse intoxilyzer tests.
Officers will seek warrants for all breath-test refusals, and Police Chief Tom Cowan said a magistrate judge will be on call to issue the warrants.
A portion of the Burleson Police Department received training May 2 focusing on how and when to obtain the warrants.
Before the training, the police department requested search warrants for breath-test refusals when suspects had convictions or were involved in accidents while allegedly driving while intoxicated, according to a press release. Now, every suspect must submit to either a DWI breath test or a blood exam if a warrant is issued.
“Basically anyone arrested by the Burleson Police Department is not going to have the opportunity to refuse to give a sample of blood,” said Richard Alpert, chief of Tarrant County’s misdemeanor division.
The training, which Alpert conducted, focused on blood collection, he said, The training did not create a new policy but showed officers how to best gather evidence under existing law.
“People who commit crimes are going to be held accountable,” he said. “It’s good that the police are using all legal means to obtain evidence.”
Dalworthington Gardens, west of Arlington, has exclusively used blood tests to determine drivers’ blood-alcohol levels for three years, Alpert said.
“They have a place at the police station where blood specimens are drawn,” he said.
Police officers are trained to collect blood, and the policy has worked well for the city because blood samples solidify DWI cases, Alpert said.
“There has been a decrease in trials for DWI cases in Dalworthington Gardens,” he said. Now, the officers “don’t have to come and fight to support their case.”
Dalworthington Gardens has not had a DWI trial in two years, according to a press release. Alpert said that with blood samples as evidence, suspects are “pleading out.”
Johnson County Attorney Bill Moore said in a press release that he is completely in favor of search warrants for blood.
“There may be more work on the front end,” he said, “but fewer trials are requested when you submit blood specimens as opposed to breath specimens.”
Cowan said he thinks making those who refuse DWI breath tests submit to blood tests will create a safer city.
“It’s in the best interest of protecting our community,” he said.
In 2008, the Burleson Police Department has handled 59 DWI suspects, and 32 refused the breath test.
Driving while intoxicated is a misdemeanor for the first two convictions, but the charge becomes a felony at the time of the third DWI arrest.
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