King County officers are taking a big step towards streamlining the process of arresting drunk or high drivers.
They are becoming certified phlebotomists!
This will allow them to quickly draw blood from DUI suspects, instead of taking them to a hospital and waiting for a nurse or phlebotomist.
The initiative is made possible by a funding grant given to the King County Sheriff’s Office.
King County Deputy Katherine Ray tells us that right now, a DUI arrest comes with paperwork, a breathalyzer test, and possibly a blood warrant request and test.
If a suspect either refuses a breathalyzer test or is suspected of being under the influence of drugs, they must submit to a blood draw.
That blood draw could take hours if the hospital is short-staffed or busy.
Ray said the “hospital staff has to rightfully prioritize life-saving care before a blood test, which sometimes leaves us waiting for a long time.”
Deputies say finding drunk and high drivers out on the road is common, which means they are often tied up with that suspect.
“These investigations specifically take a lot of time depending on the officer; some are faster than others, but you’re looking at 2-8 hours to complete,” Ray said.
Not every DUI arrest results in a blood draw, but the ones that do are lengthy.
“Those are hours and hours sometimes that an officer is not on the street doing the priority calls that they need to be handling because we are waiting to collect our evidence,” Ray said.
That is changing this week. 33 King County deputies, officers, and troopers are becoming certified phlebotomists.
This way, they can get the evidence they need from drunk and high drivers faster.
Last year, 14 King County Sheriff’s Office deputies and six officers from other King County agencies got their phlebotomy certification. Since then, they have done more than 200 blood draws.
Ray said only two of those 200 had to go to the hospital to complete the draw because of a hindrance in the process.
Officers say their method is quick. Certified phlebotomy officers now ask a judge to get a blood warrant approved, take the suspect to a precinct, and do the blood draw, instead of taking the suspect to the hospital and waiting for the draw to be done there.
“Filling a blood warrant, getting those two vials, really, is like a five-minute process,” Ray said. “We go over questions with the suspect, find the vein, do the puncture, wrap it up, and everybody’s good to go.”
She said this also provides a more accurate test for a prosecutor to get a conviction later on.
“The sooner we pull that blood, the less arguments there are for a defense attorney,” Ray said.
Ray tells us they hope to offer the program to more agencies in the years to come.
Watch KIRO 7 live at noon on Friday for the full story.