Police Lab Returns Wrong Blood Alcohol Tests December 17
Eighty-two defendants in the Colorado Springs area who have been slapped with DUI charges may yet find themselves having their driving privileges restored – or at least have their charges reduced. A report shared how the Colorado Springs Metro Crime Lab forensic chemist unit yielded blood alcohol test results that were higher than the actual results.
Prosecutors have already begun getting in touch with the lawyers of the 82 defendants affected. They were, however, unable to identify the specific cases for which the charges against defendants have either been reduced or dismissed altogether, although Assistant District Attorney Dan Zook has said that “that could happen as the investigation continues.”
A routine internal quality assurance review conducted by the Colorado Springs Police Department Crime Lab lead to the discovery of the “flawed test results,” according to Lt. David Whitlock, spokesman for the department. He also said, however, that the current 82 cases may grow in number as the department continues to follow up on the incident. Based on the news report, it seems that the root cause of the incorrect test results have not yet been determined, although tests by the manufacturer of the equipment used by the laboratory has already ruled out equipment failure.
At this point, they are said to be looking into the matter and trying to find out whether the incorrect results were the result of a procedural error or human error.
Due to the discovery of the occurrence of inaccurate results, the crime lab is now in the process of re-analyzing about a thousand blood alcohol tests since January 2009. Tests before that time have already undergone the same internal quality assurance test that lead to the discovery of the 82 cases.
The Colorado police clarified, however, that only the results of blood alcohol tests done in the lab are being questioned; the results of the other tests that the lab performs, which include DNA testing, fingerprint processing, firearms analysis, or crime scene reconstruction are not included.
Tags: alcohol abuse test, alcohol test, blood test, DUI test, police DUI test