Seattle Police Manual

15.280 - DUI

Effective Date: 1/30/2013

15.280-POL

1. Officers Must Have a BAC Operator’s Permit

Sergeants and Officers assigned to Patrol, Traffic Section or perform traffic control duties will maintain a current BAC Operator’s Permit.

Only sworn personnel with a current BAC Operator’s Permit will perform a BAC Verifier test. See 15.280-PRO-1 Driver Arrested Breath Test

2.   SPD Uses Approved Instrument(s) as the Primary BAC Verifier

Officers shall only use a Datamaster or other instrument(s) approved and serviced by the WSP Impaired Driving Program to determine the alcohol content level of a driver arrested for DUI/Physical Control.

3.   Adult and Minor Offenders Require the Same Procedures

Officers will use the same reporting procedures for adult and minor offenders.

Adult - Any person who is 21 years of age or older.

Minor - Any person under 21 years of age.

4.   Officers Have a Duty to Act

On-duty sworn personnel will take action on DUIs which come to their attention. If the action will compromise an ongoing investigation, then the sworn personnel will notify SPD Communications of the incident.

5.   Officers May Seek Outside Agency Assistance

If Department personnel are unavailable to respond to the report of a DUI due to an emergency, then an on-duty sergeant may approve referring the DUI to an outside agency.

6.   Officers Will Impound the Vehicles of Offenders Arrested for DUI

See 6.120-Impounding Vehicles

7.   Officers may request a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) after breath test results under 0.08

If a person submits to a BAC test, and the results are 0.08 or less, and the driver’s level of impairment is inconsistent with a low BrAC, call a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) through the Chief Dispatcher.

Nothing shall prevent an officer from requesting a blood sample from the arrested without the assistance of a DRE.

8.   Officers May Pursue a Blood Test in Certain Situations

A blood test may be administered in lieu of a breath test when a driver is under arrest for DUI/Physical Control and:

• The driver is unable, due to physical injury, physical incapacity, or other physical limitation, of providing a breath test, or they are being treated for injuries in a medical facility.
• The driver is being treated for a medical condition in an ambulance, aid unit, doctor’s office, clinic, or other location, or
• There is probable cause to believe the driver is under the influence of drugs only.

See 15.280-PRO-2 Driver Arrested Blood Test

9. Officers May Seek a Search Warrant for Blood

When drivers refuse to submit to a breath or blood test and Special Evidence Warnings do not apply, officers have the option of seeking a Search Warrant for the driver’s blood.

Officers shall consider immediate circumstances when determining whether to pursue a blood warrant, including but not limited to:

• Severity of the crime involved.

• Staffing issues.

• Supervisory approval.

• Repeat DUI offenses committed by the violator.

• Timeliness of the investigation.

• Other factors that may hinder the ability to obtain a warrant.
  

See 6.185-Search Warrants for information on how to obtain a warrant.

10. Officers Will Attempt to Contact a DUI Officer for Felony DUI Arrests

RCW 46.61.502 defines a felony DUI as:

• The driver has four or more prior offenses within ten years.
• The driver has ever been convicted of “Vehicular Homicide” or “Vehicular Assault”.

The inability to contact a DUI officer shall not relieve the officer of duty for the complete investigation of the incident.

11. Only Qualified Persons May Administer a Blood Test

A physician, registered nurse, or qualified technician, in the presence of a police officer, will administer the blood test following the instructions provided in the "blood test kit”.

12. The Driver May Not Refuse Blood Test in Certain Cases

Officers shall obtain a blood test without the driver’s consent if they are under arrest for Vehicular Homicide, Vehicular Assault, a DUI with significant injury to another, or a felony DUI.

The driver does not have a right to refuse this test. See 15.280-TSK-2 Officer  Task-Blood Test.

13. Officers Shall Complete DOL Paperwork in Certain Cases

Officers will forward DOL paperwork (DUI_1_Arrest Report) to SPD Data as part of the DUI case when:

• An adult is arrested for DUI/Physical Control with a blood alcohol level of .08 or greater by blood test, or if both breath samples are .08 or greater.
• A minor is arrested for DUI/Physical Control with a blood alcohol level of .02 or greater by blood test, or any concentration of THC is present.
• An adult is arrested for DUI/Physical Control with BAC of 5 nanograms/100mL THC or greater.
• A driver operating a commercial vehicle with a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) arrested for DUI/Physical Control with blood alcohol level of .04 or greater by blood test, or if both breath samples are .04 or greater.
• The driver refuses to submit to a breath or blood test.

Exception: A “DUI-Drugs only”, excluding Cannabis, incident is not reportable to DOL except for a refusal to submit to a requested test.

14. Officers Shall Document the DUI Investigation in a General Offense Report (GOR)

Do not copy the narrative to the back of a Notice of Infraction or Criminal Citation

• Write "see GO report" on the back of the ticket in the narrative field.

Officers will document the stop/arrest in a GO report, to include but not limited to:

• Reasonable suspicion to support the initial contact
  

• Reasonable suspicion that the driver is intoxicated based on the officers observations. This reasonable suspicion supports any further investigation conducted at the scene
  

• Probable cause developed from further investigation to believe that the driver was operating or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicants
  

• Time of Miranda warnings
  

• Advisement of the Implied Consent Warning
  

• A valid breath or blood test, given according to standards established by the State Toxicologist, and administered by a qualified person
  

• The results of the breath or blood test, indicating that the driver’s BAC level was .08 (adult)/.02(minor), or higher
  

• Requests for additional misdemeanor charges.

15. Officers will use the Proper Forms to Document the DUI/Physical Control Arrest

Officers shall only supplement their narrative with the following approved forms: See 15.280-TSK-3 Officer Task-Reporting

• DUI_1_Arrest Report

• DUI_2_Alcohol Influence Report

• DUI_3_Implied Consent Warning

• DUI_4_Breath Test Document (or copy of whole page from BAC machines that print large format).

• DUI_5_1_Blood Draw Form

• DUI_5_2_Blood draw search warrant

• DUI_6_DOL Hearing Request

• DUI_7_DOL Waiver of Hearing Fee

• DUI_8_Tow Impound Inventory Record

  
  

16. When a Driver is Cited and Released the Officer will Assign a Court Appearance Date

See 15.280-TSK-4 Officer Task-Court Appearance Dates

Exception: Officers will not complete the Court appearance information when the driver is booked into jail or investigated and released.

17. Officers will Complete and Distribute Required Paperwork and Alert Packets Prior to Completing Their Shift

Officers can obtain authorization to delay submission from a sergeant or above.

18. Officers Shall Call CPS in Certain DUI Investigations

When a driver is arrested for DUI/Physical Control and there is a child under the age of 16 in the vehicle and the vehicle is driven by that child’s parent, guardian, legal custodian, sibling or half-sibling, RCW 46.61.507 requires law enforcement to contact Child Protective Services.

19. Officers Shall MIR DUI Investigations With an "Adam" to Clear the Incident as an Arrest

Whether the offender is booked into KCJ or released after processing, DUI investigations meet the definition of arrest outlined in SPD Manual Section 6.010.

Officers shall clear DUI investigations with an “Adam” to appropriately capture the incident as an arrest.

15.280-PRO-1 Driver arrested for DUI/Physical Control-Breath Test

Officer

1. Completes the DUI investigation and paper work following 15.280-TSK-1 Officer Task-Breath Test.

2. If the driver refuses the breath test, then follow the steps in 15.280-TSK-1 Officer Task-Breath Test.

3. Notifies the Sergeant of the DUI arrest.

Sergeant

4. Screens the arrest and approves all paperwork.

15.280-TSK-1 Officer Task-Breath Test

When conducting a breath test on a DUI driver, an officer:

1. Gives Miranda warnings to the in-custody driver.

2. Reads the driver the “Implied Consent Warning” that pertains to the appropriate type of test, blood or breath.

3.Completes the DUI_3_Implied Consent Warning form.

If driver consents to test but refuses to sign writes “Refused to Sign” on the form.

4. Checks the driver’s mouth for foreign material.

Has the driver remove any found foreign material.

5. Requests the driver to remove any jewelry or piercings from the mouth or tongue prior to the BAC test.

If the driver cannot remove the items from their mouth then proceed with consent for blood under the language “other physical limitation.”

6. Begins the 15 minute observation period.

If the driver eats, drinks, smokes or vomits, then restarts the 15 minute observation time.

If driver cannot stop vomiting or heaving, Uses Implied Consent Warnings for blood based on physical limitations.

7. Begins the BAC Verifier test once the 15 minute observation time has passed.

8. Proceeds with the BAC Verifier test based on current training.

If the driver refuses to take the breath test, then presses ‘Y’ and process the document when the BAC Verifier prompts, “Subject Refuse Y/N?”,

 

15.280-PRO-2 Driver arrested for DUI/Physical Control-Blood Test

Officer

1. Completes the DUI investigation and paper work following 15.280-TSK-2 Officer  Task-Blood Test.

2. Notifies the Sergeant of the DUI arrest.

Sergeant

3. Screens the arrest and approves all paperwork.

Officer

4. Sends a copy of all paperwork to the Traffic Collision Investigations Squad (TCIS) in an Alert packet.

Data

5. Processes the Alert Packet and forwards to TCIS for follow-up investigation

TCIS

6. Conducts follow-up investigation and receives the results of the blood test at a later date.

7. Forwards a copy of the blood results to the arresting officer.

Officer

8. Receives the blood results and Sends the required paperwork to Data Center. 15.280-TSK-3 Officer Task-Reporting.

15.280-TSK-2 Officer Task-Blood Test

When conducting a blood draw during a DUI investigation, an officer:

1. Gives Miranda warnings to the in-custody driver.

2. Reads the driver the “Implied Consent Warning” that pertains to the appropriate type of test, blood or breath.

Exception: Officer reads Special Evidence Warnings if the incident requires a mandatory blood draw.

3. Obtains the drivers signature on the DUI_3_Implied Consent Warning form.

Exception: The driver may consent to the test but refuse to sign the form.

4. Completes the blood draw using the instructions in the Blood Kit.

5. Completes DUI_5_1 Blood Draw Form.

6. Submits the Blood Kit samples in to the Evidence Unit with a copy of the DUI_5_1 Blood Draw Form.

7. Submits the original DUI_5_1 Blood Draw Form to the Data Center in the DUI Alert Packet.

8. Receives the blood test results from TCIS.

9. Records the blood test results on the original DUI_1_ Arrest report, then signs and dates the report.

10. Sends a copy to the Data Center in an Alert Packet.

15.280-TSK-3 Officer Task-Reporting

When co,piling paperwork during a DUI investigation, an officer:

1. Completes a packet for all DUI arrests that contains:

DUI_2_Alcohol Influence Report

DUI_3_Implied Consent Warning

DUI_4_Breath Test Document (or copy of whole page from BAC machines that print large format).

DUI_5_1 Blood Draw Form (if applicable)

DUI citation (Do not complete a DUI citation for Felony DUI cases).

Notice of Infraction for any moving violations.

Officer statement if the arrest is handing off to another officer for processing.

Other Reports or supporting documents.

Exception: If the DUI arrest is reportable to DOL, then the packet must also contain:

DUI_1_Arrest Report

2. Forwards the packet to Data Center via department mail.

15.280-TSK-4 Officer Task-Court Appearance Date

When assigning an out of custody DUI driver with a court date, an Officer:

1. Completes the criminal citation and lists the appearance date, location and time in the appropriate section as follows:

If the court date falls on a legal holiday, then refer to the Special Orders published prior to the holiday.

2. Issues the violator their copy of the Criminal Citation prior to releasing them from custody.