FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LABOR DAY HOLIDAY IS A "NO REFUSAL" WEEKEND
Blood will be drawn from DWI defendants who refuse breath test

San Antonio, Texas: September 4, 2009:

District Attorney Susan D. Reed is targeting drunk drivers beginning at 8:00 p.m. tonight, continuing through Tuesday, September 8th. Those arrested for Driving While Intoxicated who refuse to provide a sample of their breath or blood will have a sample of their blood taken pursuant to a search warrant.

During an eighty-four hour time period spanning the weekend, an Assistant District Attorney will be on duty around the clock to advise and assist law enforcement agencies in this process. If an arrested person refuses to submit to a breath test, then police will request a search warrant to obtain a blood sample from the defendant. Once the judge issues the search warrant, a nurse on site at the San Antonio Magistrate’s Office and Detention Facility will take the blood sample for testing by the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The "No Refusal" Labor Day Weekend is done in cooperation with the various law enforcement agencies in the Bexar County DWI Task Force, including the San Antonio Police Department, which has previously announced increased DWI patrols over this holiday weekend. The Bexar County Magistrate’s Office, the Bexar County District Clerk’s Office, and the City of San Antonio Magistrate’s Office have also provided assistance and staff to implement the program.

Results from previous “No Refusal” weekends have shown that the average person refusing the breath test has a blood alcohol content in excess of .16, more than twice the legal limit.

For more information, please contact Mike Davis, Chairman, Bexar County DWI Task Force at (210) 273-3389