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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Some drunk drivers may soon learn they weren't as drunk as police thought they were.
Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) Friday released information that errors have been found in approximately 82 blood alcohol tests (BAC) of 1,000 that have been done since January 2009. The investigation shows that tests done on BAC samples register higher than the actual true result.
The mistaken tests were discovered through an internal quality assurance system which examines the BAC readings in some criminal and driving-under-the-influence (DUI) cases. The original tests were conducted by the Forensic Chemist Unit of the Metro Crime Lab.
CSPD has initiated an internal corrective action plan, and investigation into the cause of the errors and scope of the problem is underway. A method is in place that can identify the affected cases which have incorrect BAC readings, as well as new policies and procedures to prevent the inaccurate readings from happening in the future.
CSPD Internal Affairs and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are conducting investigations into the situation.
The manufacturer of the testing device, Agilent Technologies, has ruled out problems with the test equipment.
All of the samples are being re-tested by a senior forensic chemist. Errant reports are being corrected and provided to officials involved in the specific cases.
The Fourth Judicial District Attorney's Office and Colorado Department of Revenue have both been notified of the problem, as it directly relates to some criminal cases and revocations of driver's licenses connected to the erroneous readings. Both entities were provided new test results and each staff is researching what impact the changed BAC numbers may have on individual cases.
While this is a regrettable situation, CSPD points out that the test errors were identified because of the checks and balances in place, which ensures standards of practice are being adhered to.
In addition to BAC testing, the Metro Crime Lab also has responsibility for crime scene analysis and reconstruction, latent fingerprint processing and comparisons, blood stain pattern analysis, firearms examinations, fire debris analysis, drug analysis and forensic DNA analysis. CPSD says none of these other services are affected by the identified BAC problem.
Watch FOX21 News at 6:30 for additional details.
