Austin DWI Lawyer & Attorney : Jamie Spencer Law Firm : Serving Travis, Williamson and Hays County

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Austin is the only Austin in Texas. Or, as the saying goes, “When you leave Austin, you enter Texas”.

And Austin has reacted – albeit in a non-statistically significant way – to the news that our Police Chief announced that he intends to stick it to every DWI arrestee that refuses a breath sample. As in stick a needle in their arm and draw blood.

And furthermore, he’s going to have police officers doing the sticking. Yes, again, with the needle. They’ll be trained though. They’re not trained now – but he’ll get ‘em up to speed.

KXAN ran a story on it, and included a link in their webpage. The type of webpage that allows comments. And Austin commented.

At last count, there were over 50 commenters, and here’s how the pros and cons ran:

4 folks thought it was a great idea.

1 person I categorized as ‘neutral’ although, that’s generous because what he said was:

Don't see a problem, except Officers should not be drawing the blood. The nurse at the jail can do it. Taking blood is a risky thing, and only a trained professional should do it. This not what cops should be doing.

Mr. Neutral didn’t read the story fully, because the story is about cops sticking the needle in. At any rate, I counted him as neutral because on some level he didn’t ‘see a problem’ with it.

The overwhelming majority said it was a bad idea. 46 commenters – out of 51 total – were against it.

A smattering of the con comments?

1. This guy [Acevedo] has got to go.
2. Maybe the cops will also perform surgery on accident victims. That would save a lot of money on doctors.
3. We all know government agencies want an inch but take 100 miles. APD's intentions may seem like a good idea, but eventually leads to more government control and less individual rights. Are we are all guilty until proven innocent?
4. What's next body cavity searches at a traffic stop?
5. What happened to the Bill of Rights?
6. This is the exact thing that our forefathers sought to protect us from.
7. This is insane. This kind of precedent can lead to a very scary future.

My personal favorite? It’s a tie:

1. I dont drink, but I don’t care for this idea. I hate blood tests more than I hate beets.
2. Nothing scarier than a redneck cop with a mouth full of Copenhagen and a needle.

On a more serious note, KXAN has picked up on this ‘vibe’ with their story today about ‘Groups react to APD’s proposal’ and will be broadcasting a follow up story in less than 45 minutes. Looking forward to it.