BENTONVILLE — The Benton County Sheriff Office won’t take “no” for an answer from suspected drunken drivers if they refuse a breath test this weekend.
“No Refusal Weekend” started Friday and runs through Monday. The operation will focus on county roads and at Beaver Lake. Deputies will work with prosecutors and judges to quickly obtain blood draw warrants for drivers who refuse breath tests.
Once a warrant is approved, the driver will be taken to Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville so blood can be drawn, said Sgt. Lynn Hahn, who heads the office’s DWI Task Force.
The Arkansas Department of Health provides the blood draw kits to law enforcement agencies. Northwest Medical Center doesn't charge the Sheriff’s Office for obtaining the blood samples, Hahn said.
No blood will be obtained without a search warrant unless a person gives his or her consent, said Van Stone, county prosecutor.
Blood alcohol concentration test refusals are increasing across the country, and the refusal rate is 17 percent at the Sheriff’s Office, Hahn said. The legal limit in Arkansas is .08. Some repeat offenders refuse a breath test in an effort to try and beat the system, Hahn said.
“We applaud the Sheriff’s Office for going the extra mile to obtain valuable evidence, and we are glad to assist in their efforts,” Stone said.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled as result of a Missouri case that law enforcement should obtain a warrant before obtaining a blood sample from a suspected drunken driver.
“We have never forced blood draws without a warrant,” Hahn said.
Bentonville attorney Will Trentham believes the process is most likely legal but described it as overkill.
Prosecutors and police officers obtain convictions in the majority of DWI cases even when someone refuses a breath test, Trentham said. There is plenty of other evidence authorities can obtain without getting a warrant to obtain a blood sample, Trentham said.
“It seems aggressive and almost 1984ish,” Trentham said. “That’s just my personal opinion.”
Arkansas law requires a blood sample be obtained from drivers in cases involving a fatality or serious injury, Hahn said.
In the last two years, deputies have obtained warrants for blood samples in 25 DWI cases, Hahn said.
“We reserved it for our more serious cases,” Hahn said.
Rogers attorney Brian Vernetti, who also acts as city attorney for Bella Vista, said he hasn't handled a case where an officer took a driver to a medical facility to obtain a blood sample without a warrant in a DWI arrest.
More than 10,000 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2010 — one every 51 minutes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.