MANHATTAN — New police procedures designed to expedite blood tests of suspected drunk drivers who refuse breath tests have been put in place by the NYPD and the district attorneys from all five boroughs.
Until now, suspects in drunken-driving accidents have been allowed to stall for time and sober up by refusing a test, forcing police to jump through hurdles before they can get a warrant to draw blood.
Under the new procedures, patrol supervisors can read a suspect his testing rights on the crash scene, as opposed to at a testing site; can take a suspect directly to a testing site, instead of first to a station house; and must immediately contact the DA's office to obtain a warrant.
An update to the Patrol Guide will also address handling a severe crash where alcohol is suspected.
“These changes streamline the process to better assure that a culpable drunken driver does not escape justice through delay," NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement released on Sunday.
“The steps we announce today are important not only because they will lead to more reliable evidence in very serious cases, but also because they will reassure the public that law enforcement recognizes how important it is to stop drunk driving,” Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau also said in a statement.
The new procedures come in the wake of a fatal crash where an off-duty NYPD detective, Kevin Spellman, twice refused to take a breath test after he hit Drane Nikac, a 67-year-old grandmother from the Bronx, according to news reports.
It took more than five hours to get a warrant to take a blood sample. Spellman has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide and DWI charges, the Daily News reported.
