Geraldine's
APD's New Forced Blood-Draw Policy Puts Us All in Danger
RECEIVED Thu., Oct. 30, 2008
Dear Editor,
The Austin Police Department's new forced blood-draw policy will impair, not improve, public safety [“Bloodthirsty Chief of Bat City,” News, Oct. 31]. We need officers to stay on the streets to continue getting drunken drivers off them … not chauffeuring folks all over town to collect evidence for prosecutors.
We've seen nothing in writing to ensure force won't be used on the noncompliant and have nothing in the use-of-force policy about what is justified force for purposes of evidence collection.
To prevent drunken driving, APD needs to keep people from getting behind the wheel in the first place (telling the stumbling attempting to open their car doors, "You have two vehicle choices tonight, back of a cab or back of a police car"). They don't walk the beat Downtown at night doing that because they need their arrest numbers. That approach puts us all in danger.
The Austin Police Department's new forced blood-draw policy will impair, not improve, public safety [“Bloodthirsty Chief of Bat City,” News, Oct. 31]. We need officers to stay on the streets to continue getting drunken drivers off them … not chauffeuring folks all over town to collect evidence for prosecutors.
We've seen nothing in writing to ensure force won't be used on the noncompliant and have nothing in the use-of-force policy about what is justified force for purposes of evidence collection.
To prevent drunken driving, APD needs to keep people from getting behind the wheel in the first place (telling the stumbling attempting to open their car doors, "You have two vehicle choices tonight, back of a cab or back of a police car"). They don't walk the beat Downtown at night doing that because they need their arrest numbers. That approach puts us all in danger.
Debbie Russell
ACLU-TX Central Texas Chapter
ACLU-TX Central Texas Chapter
