MILLER COUNTY, Mo. — In the past, some drivers suspected of Driving While Intoxicated, have managed to avoid sobriety tests by simply refusing to submit to a field breathalyzer. But Miller County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Howard says in his county—and many others—officers will no longer take “No” for an answer.
Howard announced today that his office in cooperation with local judges, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and local law enforcement agencies has joined a growing number of jurisdictions in implementing a “no refusal” policy on DWI arrests in Miller County.
Current Missouri law mandates that drivers consent to a chemical test upon arrest for suspicion of DWI, and a refusal to do so can result in automatic loss of driving privileges for one year.
“Those laws have to my knowledge always been routinely enforced in Miller County and in most counties that I am aware of,” Howard said. “And there have obviously been some folks that have escaped the impact of the revocation,” he added, pointing to the “vagaries” involved in taking the issue to court.
But law enforcement officers in Miller County now have an additional tool to aid their DWI investigations: a digital search warrant that can be processed and issued electronically by the court to authorize a blood draw. Howard says if an individual suspected of BWI says “No” to a field breathalyzer test, the officer could have a warrant to draw blood within minutes.
“We have instructed officers that in addition to the normal advice of rights and reading of the implied consent warnings that they can advise the suspect that upon a refusal they will maintain custody of the person while applying for a search warrant and if issued by the judge they will obtain a blood draw before they can be released or post bond,” he said.
Howard explains the “old paper-bound” procedure required printing out pages of documents and physical trips by police officers carrying the warrant around to find a judge to sign after obtaining approval from the prosecutor. Due to the cumbersome nature of the process and delays involved, such search warrants in the past were typically utilized only in felony cases involving death or injury or when a suspect was a chronic DWI offender.
Howard has authorized law enforcement officers in Miller County to now seek a digital search warrant at their discretion in any DWI case.
The new “no refusal” policy relies on digital transmission of the documents and electronic signatures, which allows the search warrant to be in the hands of the officer within a few minutes without having to leave the patrol car or police station.
Officers would not administer the blood test, he explained—they would utilize ambulance personnel, EMT/paramedics, or the local hospital. “I anticipate that the technology for doing it with a finger prick will be coming someday,” he said.
Howard noted that blood testing is a more accurate measure of intoxication and that he had never seen an instance in his 29 years of experience where the blood showed a lower result than a breathalyzer. Howard hopes publicizing the “no refusal” policy will significantly reduce the number of refusals in Miller County and help law enforcement efforts to combat drunk driving. Miller County experienced 37 alcohol-related crashes in 2013, resulting in 10 fatalities and 24 injuries.
“Most refusals come from repeat offenders or those who have thought out an advance strategy about how to evade a DWI ticket,” Howard said. “These are the people we want to focus on and to get the message: if you drive while impaired and get stopped, you will be arrested, you will be tested and you will be prosecuted.”
