Hundreds Of DWI Cases In Question As BCA Suspends Breath Testing Statewide

ST. PAUL, MN — Hundreds of DWI cases across Minnesota could be affected after the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) ordered an immediate statewide suspension of all breath testing.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s BCA said law enforcement agencies “must immediately review and verify dry gas cylinder data has been entered correctly into DataMaster (DMT) instruments currently being used.”

The order follows “the discovery of multiple data entry errors by trained operators during the installation of gas cylinders in the instrument.”

Out of “an abundance of caution,” the BCA said, “all DMT usage” is suspended “until agencies verify the gas cylinder data is correctly entered into 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.”

Each DMT instrument includes “a uniquely numbered dry gas cylinder with a known alcohol concentration, which serves as a control during every test to ensure the instrument is measuring alcohol accurately,” according to the BCA.

When an operator installs a new cylinder, the information must be entered manually, and the agency said that in some cases, “incorrect cylinder information had been entered into the instrument, resulting in test data being called into question.”

The BCA said it became aware Friday of “two more instruments with data entry errors related to gas cylinder installation.” The newly affected instruments are in “Olmsted County, where the error may affect 108 cases, and Hennepin County, where the error may affect 38 cases.”

“This follows the discovery of errors in Aitkin, Winona and Chippewa counties,” the BCA said, noting that “agencies that house the instruments are not necessarily responsible for the error as multiple law enforcement agencies use each instrument.”

Recognizing “the potential of human error with the existing exchange process,” the BCA said “all gas cylinder replacements and maintenance moving forward will be conducted solely by BCA personnel, effective immediately.”

The agency said it “is dedicated to partnering with Minnesota law enforcement agencies to keep Minnesota roads safe from impaired drivers” and will continue to provide “the training and information necessary to ensure the accuracy and reliability of all breath testing in Minnesota.