ST. PAUL — Breathalyzer test results previously called into question are accurate, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced Friday, Oct. 31.
The BCA temporarily ordered law enforcement to stop using DataMaster breathalyzer tests in mid-October until they could be inspected. The agency said the move was out of an abundance of caution after the discovery of data entry errors related to the dry gas cylinders used in the machines.
But the BCA said its lab scientists mathematically verified the data entry errors did not impact the accuracy of the tests.
Hundreds of tests were compromised because of the error, which had the potential to impact drunk driving cases.
At least one case was dismissed in Aitkin County.
Superintendent Drew Evans said at a Friday news conference that the BCA will issue amended reports outlining the impact of the errors. Each case will have to be examined individually, but Evans said the error shouldn’t impact any cases.
“These amended results will be provided to law enforcement that will provide them to the prosecutors, and they’ll make a determination what the next steps might be legally,” he said.
“Because there’s 87 different counties and countless city attorney’s offices and the attorney general’s office, each individual office will have to determine what impact that will have and if there’s a path forward for any of those cases.”
The BCA said its scientists will testify that the tests are still accurate.
Evans said the data entry errors were out of line with training for the process. From now on, only BCA personnel will replace dry gas cylinders. Half of all DataMaster instruments were verified and secured as of Friday, with full completion expected in the next few weeks.
“We trust the reliability of these instruments, especially when all the proper steps are followed in this process,” Evans said.
“ ... Why we brought this forward to begin with is that we hold ourselves to the highest standards of quality in our forensic laboratory and the instruments we employ across the state.”
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