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DWI Texas
According to a new Texas law that went into effect on September 1, if police officers suspect that alcohol has played a role in a vehicle crash, they can order paramedics at the scene to draw blood from people injured or involved in the accident for a possible criminal case.
Without questioning whether or not medical personnel should be forced to work as de facto law enforcement agents of the state, KHOU touted the law as "just in time for Labor Day weekend, a holiday when many folks are going to drink and some may try to drive" (video below).
Susan Reed, Bexar County district attorney, put her support behind the law as well, telling KHOU: "In the last legislative session, the legislation addressed an issue of whether EMTs could take blood in relation to intoxication behind the wheel, be it an accident issue or an arrest... It actually gives us more options and more ability to do warrants and do blood draws in relation to DWI."
Now, 6,000 paramedics in Texas will have no choice to draw the blood, if told by a police officer to do so, and become part of a criminal investigation.
Source: KHOU
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