Cops Get Volunteers Drunk for Field Sobriety Tests

Ever wonder how much training a police officer gets before administering a field sobriety test to a driver suspected of DUI in Los Angeles? Are they really qualified to make a judgement about whether or not someone is really impaired? How much experience do they have in determining who is under the influence and who is not?

In Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, the District Attorney’s office sponsored a special DUI detection class for area officers. According to The Sentinel newspaper, the DA asked for civilian volunteers willing to get a little drunk to make sure that the cops got some real, hands-on experience. (The class organizers monitored the test subjects closely to make sure the volunteers’ alcohol consumption didn’t get out of control.)

After spending some time in regular classroom work, the cops in the training session had the opportunity to take a close look at the drinking volunteers’ eyes, to watch them walk and turn and stand on one leg. Officers who took the class said that they realized that they had been missing some of the cues that intoxicated drivers provide about their condition when they take a field sobriety test. In some cases, they let people drive off who probably should not have been driving.

The volunteers who agreed to drink on cue discovered something as well. They found that after a few drinks, their level of impairment was greater than they realized. Some said that the amount that they normally drink would actually make them too impaired to drive.

How should you respond to your recent and disarming charges? Call a qualified Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer (and ex-prosecutor) with nearly two decades of relevant legal experience.

Did police stop you for driving under the influence in Los Angeles? Contact DUI defense attorney Michael Kraut for assistance at (323) 464-6453 or online. We’re located at 6255 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1520, Los Angeles, California 90028.