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Weinblatt's Tips with Dr. Richard Weinblatt

Tip: AlcoSensor breath samples: How to tell if your subject is cooperating

As a former patrol division deputy sheriff in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I, as well as any other officer who has conducted countless DUI arrests, can fairly state that drunks often do not cooperate with our examination procedures.  One problem that comes up is determining whether subjects are really blowing hard enough to submit a sample into the Intoxilyzer Inc. AlcoSensor handheld device. 

A useful and very visual way (especially nice when used with an in-car video camera to record the process) to determine if they are blowing hard enough is to remove the clear plastic wrapping used to protect the mouthpiece prior to use.  Hold the normally discarded wrapping vertically in front of the subject as they blow into the mouthpiece. Assuming that it is an AlcoSensor mouthpiece that does not have a restriction at the far side from the subject and gives minimal back pressure, there should be a free flow of air through the mouthpiece causing the plastic wrapping to flutter.

If the wrapping material doesn't flutter, you can question the subject's cooperation in submitting a breath sample.

Richard B. Weinblatt, Ed.D., M.P.A., is an instructor in multiple disciplines. He is Florida Criminal Justice Standards certified in general law enforcement topics, firearms, defensive tactics, and vehicle operations, as well as holding instructor certifications for Taser, pepper spray, and expandable baton. He holds the Certified Law Enforcement Trainer (CLET) designation from the American Society for Law Enforcement Training (ASLET).

Weinblatt is a professor and program manager for the Criminal Justice Institute at Seminole Community College in Sanford, FL. Weinblatt has worked in several regions of the country in reserve and full-time sworn positions ranging from auxiliary police lieutenant in New Jersey to patrol division deputy sheriff in New Mexico to police chief in North Carolina.

Weinblatt may be reached through www.policearticles.com.

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