After the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension became aware of DWI testing instruments giving incorrect information, it has asked that law enforcement agencies around the state inspect their devices.
Two DataMaster DMT instruments, which measure breath alcohol levels, were discovered on Friday to have data entry errors that are related to gas cylinder installation on the devices. Those two devices with errors were in Olmsted County, potentially affecting 108 cases, and in Hennepin County, potentially affecting 38 cases, according to a news release from the BCA on Friday night.
Earlier, the BCA found errors in Aitkin, Winona and Chippewa counties.
The BCA is requiring local law enforcement agencies to “immediately review and verify dry gas cylinder data has been entered correctly into DataMaster instruments (DMT) currently being used.”
The BCA has ordered the suspension of all DMT usage until agencies verify the gas cylinder data in each instrument. In addition, the release said, “all gas cylinder replacements and maintenance” will be done by BCA personnel starting immediately, and the BCA plans to update its DMT maintenance procedures.
“This requirement follows the discovery of multiple data entry errors by trained operators during the installation of gas cylinders in the instrument,” the release said, but the agencies using the DWI testing instruments are “not necessarily responsible for the error as multiple law enforcement agencies use each instrument.”
“The BCA is committed to the highest level of quality in our forensics lab, and this is why we are conducting this review,” said BCA Superintendent Drew Evans. “We appreciate our law enforcement partners’ prompt attention to this inspection process.”
Law enforcement personnel who administer the breath tests and maintain the DMT instrument are specially trained in their use by the BCA.
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