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Problems found in eight alcohol test machines: Michigan State Police
February 12, 2020 By Staff
Michigan State Police (MSP) have so far identified discrepancies in eight of the 203 breath alcohol testing devices used across the state, potentially affecting 52 suspected drunken driving cases, according to The Detroit News.
More from the news outlet below:
An audit identified the first evidence of potential criminal wrongdoing by the third-party company hired to perform maintenance on the device on Jan. 2, but problems with the company’s technicians date back to April 2019. Between August and December, seven cases were dismissed because of errors and a lack of compliance with contracted duties.
The agency has calibrated 37 of the 203 machines pulled out of commission and hopes to have the remainder of the instruments back online within 30 days, Michigan State Police Director Col. Joseph Gasper told lawmakers on Jan. 16.
The issues with the breath test machines were first noted on Jan. 2 when an audit found irregularities in a maintenance report from a DataMaster DMT instrument at the Alpena County Sheriff’s Department, he said.
With this new information, MSP stated in a news release it had removed all 203 Datamaster DMT evidential breath alcohol testing instruments from service until they can be inspected and verified by MSP personnel to ensure they are properly calibrated.
MSP “recommends to police agencies that they utilize blood draws rather than breath tests to establish evidence of drunk driving during the interim period.”
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