Controversial DWI blood draw plan starts this weekend

Starting this weekend, if you refuse to blow into a breathalyzer, you could lose some blood, Austin's police chief said.

"We will have a phlebotomist on duty at our BAT [Breath Alcohol Testing] testing bus, who we're paying $17 an hour to draw your blood," Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said.

Acevedo is using this holiday weekend as a test period for the controversial procedure to combat drunk driving.

"Our hope is to save lives, to prevent destruction and to change
behavior," he said.

A judge will be on call this weekend, and if he or she finds probable cause, he or she will sign a search warrant allowing a trained professional to draw blood.

Driving while intoxicated attorneys said that decision might not be fair.

"It's a slippery slope once this begins to happen, as to just how far the government will go in denying people their rights," attorney Jerry Smith said.

For more than 30 years, Smith has been fighting DWI cases in court.

"I think there are going to be significant issues raised on appeal,
challenging both the constitutionality and perhaps some
of the procedures," he said.

So how many people would this actually affect?

According to the chief of police, close to 50 percent of those suspected of drunk driving pulled over refuse to take the breathalyzer test.

	Driving while intoxicated attorneys said that decision might not be fair.

"Life is about choices, and sadly too many Austinites, too many Texans and too many Americans are making bad choices when it comes to drinking and driving," Acevedo said.

This weekend, APD won't give you a choice if you choose to
drink too much and get behind the wheel.

Acevedo said police won't physically force anyone to give their blood, but if you refuse both the breathalyzer and blood draw, more charges will be added.

Those will include obstruction and failure to follow a court order.

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