Tewksbury Chief: Department's Breathalyzer Tests are Valid, Device is Working Properly

Last week Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan announced the suspension of the use of breathalyzer test results in operating under the influence cases until further notice, after being notified by the Office of Alcohol Testing that there was an issue with breath tests given to several identified defendants in Middlesex County.

In response to that announcement, Tewksbury Police Chief Timothy Sheehan issued a statement about the validity of his department’s testing.

In a statement, Sheehan said one of the first calls his department made after hearing about the limited number of problematic cases in the Middlesex County was to the Office of Alcohol Testing to determine if the validity of any of Tewksbury Police Department’s testing would be called into question.

Sheehan said he learned a preliminary review of the breathalyzer tests performed on Tewksbury’s Draeger 9510 revealed that they are all within the acceptable gas calibration standards set in the applicable Massachusetts Safe Roads CMR (501 CMR 2.00).

“That being the case, the applicable CMR indicates that this would infer our testing has been valid and that our device is operating properly,” Sheehan said in a statement. “At this point, we will continue to abide by the Department’s standard operating procedures in all of our OUI investigations and arrests. We will also continue to closely monitor our calibration checks on all tests administered while this situation continues to unravel. As has been demonstrated by participation in recent sobriety checkpoints and ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ campaigns, we take drunk driving very seriously.”

Related Stories:

• Middlesex County DA Suspends Use of Breathalyzer Test Results in OUI Cases