At midnight Wednesday morning, Williamson County jailers got the power to draw blood. It's been nearly two years since the county started drawing blood in felony DWI arrests.
"We're not talking about your first offenders -- these are serious repeat offenders for DWI," said John Foster, Williamson County Sheriff’s Office.
Repeat offenders include the drunk driver who killed Justin Teague, 19, in 2003. His mother, Terri, now fights for victims' rights.
"It infuriates me that people think it's all right to get behind the wheel and drink and drive and that there's no consequences to their actions," said Terri Teague.
Teague supports any method of catching a drunk driver.
Until Wednesday morning, deputies had to wait for nurses at nearby hospitals to draw a blood sample. The policy sometimes meant a long delay and inaccurate blood alcohol readings. Some hospitals in the Austin area have recently refused to perform the blood draws.
"It's become apparent that hospitals really don't want to become involved in these types of blood draws. In respect to that, we went out and we're going to do it ourselves," said Foster.
The county sent three of its EMT jailers through at least four weeks of training to become certified phlebotomists. The jailers -- one for each shift -- will now draw blood from suspected felony drunk drivers directly from the Williamson County Jail infirmary.
Williamson County isn't the first jurisdiction to take emergency rooms out of the equation. Several states, including Arizona and Utah, already have officers drawing blood.
"There's been a gradual erosion of people's rights to privacy," said Jerry Smith, criminal defense lawyer.
Smith believes the new policy is trouble.
"The blood tests themselves are going to come under closer scrutiny in the courtroom procedures now. (The county required) minimal training though for these (jailers) and jail settings are notoriously unsanitary," said Smith.
For victims of drunk drivers like Teague, it's a risk worth taking.
"I would rather see a nurse do it, but I also know that time is of an essence and it needs to be done as soon as possible," said Teague.
The county expects to train more jailers in the future.
1 comment:
DWI in Austin is like getting seriously out of hand. I called my friend who goes to UT and she said, like 4 people in her dorm where busted in less than 3 weeks. What gives? I live in California DUI are crazy here but not as bad like Austin. Good luck y'all.
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