 "Photo: Sara Young/The Daily Texan")
Austin Police Department’s Halloween DWI “No-Refusal” initiative Friday and Saturday nights netted 46 arrests, a decrease from last Halloween’s 54 arrests.
This Halloween marks the seventh run of the initiative since it began a year ago. The goal of the initiative is to gather a blood or breath specimen from every person suspected of drunk driving even if they refuse.
Twenty-nine search warrants were approved over the weekend, which allowed police to collect a blood sample from noncompliant drivers. Fourteen individuals gave a breath sample, while two consented to a blood draw. One blood draw was taken without a warrant because the driver fell into one of three categories that exempts a required warrant, including situations where someone is injured, a child is present or it is the driver’s third DWI.
APD operated the initiative and drew blood from breath alcohol test bus, which was set at a fixed location downtown for two eight-hour shifts. A detective on scene at the BAT bus wrote search warrants and presented them to a magistrate that was available throughout the night.
“If you do drink and drive, you are going to jail, simple as that,” said APD Cmdr. Stephen Baker. “We are going to do everything we can to see that [drunk drivers] are taken off the streets and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
However, political advocacy groups argue the legality of involuntary searches.
“Whenever no harm has occurred and somebody simply swerves, I don’t think it’s justified to go so far as to collect blood — to penetrate somebody’s body to collect blood against their will,” said John Bush, the executive director for Texans for Accountable Government.
Bush said the group is in support of the three exemptions that make a warrantless blood draw legal but still believes that “No-Refusal” initiatives violate another section of the law which states that a sample may not be taken from a person who refuses.
Although the “No-Refusal” weekends are given increased attention during holidays, the bus still operates Wednesday through Saturday, but with less focus on collecting a sample from every individual.
“To have something like this set up every night — it’s very manpower extensive, ultimately not cost effective — we just target specific dates where data has shown in the past a significant number of DWI arrests,” said APD Lt. David Mahoney.
Mahoney said more than 60 percent of arrests result in a sample taken that is twice the legal limit. On most nights, about 50 percent of individuals suspected of drunk driving will refuse to give a sample.
Assistant City Manager Michael McDonald said the city manager’s office supports the “No-Refusal” initiative because it provides evidence against those who otherwise may “somehow pass and go through the system.”
“It’s more of a sure way of determining if someone was intoxicated or not,” McDonald said.
The City Council voted unanimously in October on a resolution defining guidelines to ensure safe and sanitary blood draws. It originally barred officers from drawing blood themselves, yet before being presented, the clause was removed because it contradicted state law.
“We certainly understand the concern, and we will be working over the next month or so to develop procedures where we can ensure officers don’t have to take blood,” McDonald said.
APD and Texans for Accountable Government suggest designated drivers, taxis and sponsored driving services such as soberRide as the wisest means to prevent drunk driving.
“I would only hope that people understand the consequences of drinking and driving, and that’s going to be the only deterrent,” Mahoney said. “I don’t actually know how to stop people from drinking and driving. I think they’d be a fool not to know drinking and driving is not a good thing to do."
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