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DA, police release new information on faulty DUI tests
Posted: 04.19.2010 at 4:57 PM
Rachel Welte

Rachel Welte is the Weekend News Anchor and a General Assignment Reporter.

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 / FOX21: Mike Duran
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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- FOX21 News has an update on the story first reported in December about errors on lab tests in DUI cases.

The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) and the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office released Monday the results of an internal investigation into faulty testing procedures for blood-alcohol content (BAC) levels.

In November of last year, CSPD identified the problem through an internal blood-alcohol proficiency test.

Once identified, an investigation began that determined a number of blood-alcohol tests conducted by a forensic chemist at the Metro Crime Lab, had been erroneously reported higher than the true, actual result.

In an effort to find all of the BAC tests that were reported incorrectly, samples dating back to January 2006 were re-analyzed during the course of CSPD's internal investigation.

"During that time a total of 7,892 blood-alcohol tests were conducted by the CSPD Metro Crime Lab. Of those it was determined that 206 tests were identified as flawed," said Sgt. Steve Noblitt with the Colorado Springs Police Department.

Noblitt said after determining how many cases were flawed, the Metro Crime Lab initiated a formal corrective action plan, finding the cause of the problem to be human error on the part of a single forensic chemist who is no longer employed with CSPD.

"At the request of CSPD, the Colorado Bureau of Investigations sent a representative to conduct an external and independent investigation into the possible causes of the inaccurate readings," Noblitt said. "That inquiry resulted in similar findings as the simultaneous internal affairs analysis."

Along with the two investigations, the manufacturer of the devices used for BAC testing checked the equipment and ruled out problems with the instruments.

Meanwhile, the district attorney's office conducted a case file and evidence review on all 206 cases to determine the consequences on the prosecution.

Officials there said they identified nine cases in total that were directly affected by the incorrect blood alcohol content results.

"We then took corrective action where we could, either dismissing the charge or asking the court to refund any costs someone may have paid," District Attorney Dan May said.

May said each of the 206 defendants, or their attorneys, have been notified of the corrective action, if any, that was taken by the district attorney's office as a result of the revised BAC results.

CSPD said none of the other services performed by the Metro Crime Lab have been affected by the problems.

Click here to see the BAC Inquiry Timeline. 

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