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Troubles already with HPD officers training to draw blood of suspects
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The Houston Police Department has delayed the start of training for officers to start drawing blood of drunken driving suspects.
Officers won't even need search warrants to forcibly take blood from DWI suspects in some cases, say HPD officers who have been briefed on the program.
Using National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grant money, the Houston Police Department will send 10 officers to phlebotomist training, so they'll be certified to draw blood from drunken driving suspects.
The training was supposed to be under way this week, but HPD officials say they couldn't get those 10 officers ready because of the vaccinations that are required for phlebotomists.
Some of the Hepatitis shots are given in a series of doses over several months, so it may take a while to get those 10 officers up to date on their shots so they can start the training.
The curriculum has already been written and approved for the officer training, which will be conducted at Lone Star College in Houston.
The City of Houston is hoping the grant money will lead to the type of success that Arizona has reported since over 1,000 officers became phlebotomists in 1998. In that state, search warrants are obtained for any suspected drunk, and then officers draw the blood for testing. DWI experts say the rate of refusal in that state has dropped below 5%. In Houston, more than 50% of the drunk driving suspects refuse to submit to testing.
HPD officials who have been briefed on the Houston program say officers are being trained so that certified phlebotomist officers will be on duty during all 3 shifts of the day. The department is asking for the first officers in the program to be the same ones already certified to run the "intoxilizer" or breath test machine at the downtown facility known as "Central Intox."
The officers who run those machines spend much of their shift in Central Intox, so the department is planning on further utilizing their services by having them draw blood as well.
HPD is not planning to have officers draw blood in the field, or at the site of the arrest.
Officers who have been briefed on the HPD program say they've already been told the marching orders. Officers will arrest someone on suspicion of DWI and they'll haul the suspect to Central Intox, where video cameras record every move.
They'll be read a statutory warning about how their license will be suspended if they refuse to submit to breath or blood testing. If they refuse the breath test, officers will contact an on call judge to list off the probable cause for arrest. The judge can then sign a search warrant for the officers to draw blood without the suspect's consent.
HPD officers familiar with the plan say many cases will not require a search warrant, so they'll be authorized to draw blood from many suspects with no court oversight.
Texas law already allows a "mandatory blood draw" for felony cases involving drunken driving, such as DWI with a child in the car, Intoxication Assault or Intoxication Manslaughter, or a felony third offense (with two prior convictions) for DWI. Plus, a new state law went into effect September 1, allowing "mandatory blood draws" for any car crash that results in even the slightest injury.
In the past, mandatory blood draws have been handled by nurses or other trained phlebotomists at the hospitals.
The federal funding will handle training for the first group of 10 officers, as well as a second group of 10 officers after that. HPD isn't sure yet whether it will receive funding for any further groups.
This Examiner page first reported on the "Law Enforcement Phlebotomist" program two weeks ago, but Tuesday evening, HPD headquarters was still hoping to avoid any criticism by playing dumb. A spokesman said he could not confirm the program was anything more than an idea. He made it sound like it was merely a proposal that had been discussed in the past. However, officers familiar with this program say the policy is in place, the training is scheduled, and the funding is ready to be spent.
Ten officers have bee notified they could start training in the coming weeks, depending upon their vaccinations being finished.
They also have to be certified in CPR as a requirement for becoming phlebotomists. One officer who is on the list to be trained said, "In case the person you're sticking passes out."
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