Florida Cops Plan to Draw Blood at Checkpoints

Florida Cops Plan to Draw Blood at Checkpoints

www.wpbf.com

Drunken drivers beware: If you drink and drive, especially during the last weekend of February, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and other area law enforcement will be out for blood.
PBSO deputies plan to set up driving under the influence checkpoints. If they suspect a driver is under the influence, they'll offer an on-the-spot Breathalyzer. If drivers refuse, deputies will ask to draw blood from their arms.
"I think that's really personal and I think that if you deny a Breathalyzer, I think that's outrageous if they take blood without your consent," driver Courtney Liddle said.

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[edit on 23-2-2009 by baseball101]

This is weird ... who ever heard of cops drawing blood at a checkpoint? i hope its not the cops who are drawing the blood ... that would just be straight up scary for someone who's wasted ... i think this is kind of invasive of the police to do ... i don't know ... i guess it's to protect and serve right?

www.wpbf.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

well here in pa if you refuse to take a breathalyzer you atoumatically lose your dl for a year. and if you do take it and blow positive they take you to the hospital to get a blood sample. i understand where they are coming from because i had a friend get out of a dui because he sat in the hospital long enough for his ba level to come down to legal. but unless it is an emt, lpn, rn or dr- no way is anyone sticking a needle in my arm(not to mention i hate needles) just to draw blood. and if they did against my will i would insist they check for a multitude of diseases since they just stole my blood.

Let me get this straight. If you refuse a less invasive test (which is totally legal to refuse BTW), they will make (enforce) you to take the more invasive test? Why don't they just spinal tap us too on the spot? Since it's the only way to tell if we're on '___'. [/sarcasm]

[edit on 2/23/2009 by Griff]

reply to post by Griff


as i said in pa we have to submit to a breath test or lose our dl. it is legal to refuse but if you do guess what? no more dl. period. by signing your dl you agree to this. if you refuse then they WILL take you to the hospital and if you have no alcohol in your system you still lose it. but to just draw blood in not so sanitary conditions i would refuse and fight if they tried it. so now i'm in jail for assault on an officer. can't win either way. why don't they just implement in this chip everyone is talking about to just tell the authorities who is drunk and on drugs and who is not? guess would be easier pfff. just another infringement on our rights

It is illegal in most states to refuse a breathalyzer. I dare anyone to try and forcefully draw blood from me though. I would be screaming to the supreme court.

What can anybody do about it? Time and time again courts have upheld these kind of methods. In this case, the cops will find a judge, who will most likely be present, to sign off on a warrant. Then they will force you to give up the blood. Of course being drunk and stupid, you will resist and the cops will tack on more charges and fines. IMO, DUI checkpoints are a money pit for the city.

Simple Solution...DON'T get drunk and get behind the wheel of a car!!!

In most states when you refuse the breath test after being read Implied Consent you WILL lose your license for a year. Going for blood after a refusal is pointless and NOT needed. Blood IS needed though if the driver is less safe and appears intoxicated but blows under the legal limit on the PBT...that usually means they are under the influence of a narcotic...so breath really won't help, and in that case all the officer/deputy has to do is read the Implied Consent for blood...problem solved!

I agree the ultimate solution is to not drink and drive. I personally do not drink at all. Whats to say I couldnt be pullled over for suspicion and forced into this, even sober? Sorry, not going to happen. No one will EVER take my blood without my permission.

reply to post by baseball101


In Florida only a licensed physician, nurse or phlebotomist can draw blood. I can assure you that NO police departments can afford to send employees through a lenghty phleb. training program, especilaly since FDLE just cut 1000 jobs and may soon cut more meaning they wouldn't have the time or manpower to do this. They have to transport you to a medical facility; EMS cannot respond to these calls either. Typically shoddy reporting! This policy already has been in effect for a number of years anyway.

Furthermore, I support the policy of not permitting people to refuse Breathalyzers. The only people who will? Drunk drivers, and if you knew the toll impaired drivers cause in our state and in our insurance rates each year you would support that too. Hospitals can perform other tests if the results may be affected by legal drugs or diabetes so spare me the "profiling" nonsense, people rarely go to jail for DUI that weren't drunk. Sorry, if getting drunk is so important to you that it is more important than the lives of EVERYONE on the road, you deserve jail.

Originally posted by cautiouslypessimistic
I agree the ultimate solution is to not drink and drive. I personally do not drink at all. Whats to say I couldnt be pullled over for suspicion and forced into this, even sober? Sorry, not going to happen. No one will EVER take my blood without my permission.

Being sober will not prevent them from wanting your blood, thus, no solution.

I do not drink, and having said that if I got pulled over or was stopped at a check point I would refuse the breath test!!! Hands down. I am not going to allow them to bully me into giving up my rights!!! Take my DL I don't care.
That is just making me make a decision to drive without one. I will still drive.
I don't plan on renewing it anyway!

for you paranoid people thinking we WANT your blood even sober...that thought process is just short of stupid. We are there to get drunk drivers off the street...if you have no indicators of being drunk or you haven't been drinking your not going to be bothered...to say otherwise is foolish...and just bias really.

reply to post by secretagent woooman


if your directing this comment at me then i'm kind of confused ... i never said that i drink and drive, i just posted this here for people to read so don't go pushing the fault on me.

yep i agree with you once again. been thru many checkpoints and they always ask if i have been drinking. i say no just tired from roofing all day waiting to go home to have a beer, dinner and fall asleep. if they don't smell it, see cans lying around etc. they let me go on my merry way.

Thats pretty messed up.. what if they screwedd it up and caused arterial damage?

It seems pretty intrusive. Your blood is your blood after all.

Its not whether or not they want my blood, its that they have absolutely NO RIGHT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, to take the blood from my veins.

The article says that the COP will ' ASK' for permission to draw blood. The COPS cannot draw your blood without permission or a court order. They CANNOT hold you dowmn kicking and screaming and take your bl;ood. The Jehovahs Witnesses would go crazy getting that stopped!!

The article makes it sound as if you get dragged into a van and forceably deblooded; that cannot happen and will not, or the COPS will face lawsuits, and fast.

This is just another method cops uise to push the limits of conduct to the breaking point: If they can make us THINK that we must obey their ' orders' even when not legal, they theyn have won.

I never drink alcohol anyway, but drunk drivers deserve to get harsh penalties...but COPS are NOT doctors and have NOP business takling fluids from human bodies.

Can you imagine some COP sticking a needle into you? God forbid they EVER get powers like this; it will mean the end of all liberties, and cause for rebellion.

It is rare indeed that I agree with rcwj75 but on this occasion I do. Its simple don't drink and drive, there is no reason to do so and if you do then you pay the price. Safety should be paramount, yours, your passengers, other road users and pedestrians all have a right not to be killed or maimed for life by piss head drivers.