Reader’s Question:

I know that there is certification required for blood alcohol testing in a DUI arrest. Are police officers in Lawton, Oklahoma also being trained in conducting field sobriety tests or there’s really no need for certification for this?

Brylee

Lawton, OK

The Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Program recommends law enforcement to develop refresher or in service training, as needed, to ensure that SFST trained personnel maintain their proficiency in the administration of their total DUI or DUI enforcement program; this includes police officers in Lawton, Oklahoma who administer field sobriety tests during a DUI investigation.

The said program would require an officer to obtain 20 practice tests prior to being considered certified in the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN). There would be no time limit on when these tests can be obtained. It is also required to have 35 practice tests within a six month period. A refusal could not be considered a practice test as the evaluation of the DUI suspect must be supported by a blood alcohol reading. An officer is being trained to administer the HGN test last during his practice test period and not to formulate an opinion based on the results or use it for probable cause to arrest. Officers are told not to document the test because of this.

Tags: blood alcohol test, DUI, DUI lawyer, field sobriety tests