Policy Text
\n\n--- Page 1 ---\n\nGAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDER
TITLE: ACCREDITATION:
Impaired Driver Enforcement CALEA 61.1.9; 61.1.10;
61.1.2.a and 61.1.5a
PRIOR REVISIONS:
PROPONENT UNIT: 1/21/2002,7/23/2010,
Patrol Support Bureau 7/08/19
ATTACHMENT:
NUMBER ISSUE DATE REVISION DATE TOTAL PAGES
61.3 07/01/1998 05/15/2025 9
I. PURPOSE: This Order establishes a comprehensive policy for enforcing the laws that
prohibit persons impaired due to alcohol, controlled substances, or chemical substances
from operating vehicles.
II. POLICY: To reduce the incidence of traffic crashes and fatalities, the Gainesville Police
Department shall vigorously enforce Florida’s statutes regarding impaired drivers.
III. PROCEDURE: [61.1.10]
A. Training: To provide more effective enforcement and prosecution, the Department shall
provide members with training on how to detect, test, and arrest impaired drivers.
1. Members shall be provided training through:
i. Basic recruit training,
ii. Advanced and Specialized Training at local police academies,
iii. Breath Test Technician course.
iv. Portable Breath Test (PBT) Device Course. (See G.O. 61.4)
B. Enforcement Measures: The Department may participate in the following prevention
and enforcement measures. (The list is not intended to be exhaustive.)
1. Traffic checkpoints;
2. Selective enforcement;
3. Participation in community projects and programs (such as Project Graduation);
[61.1.9]
C. Detection: Members can detect an impaired driver through a variety of means.
1. Actions: The following are some driving actions that may indicate that a driver may
be impaired:\n\n--- Page 2 ---\n\nGAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
i. Causing a crash.
ii. Driving on wrong side of roadway;
iii. Driving too slow or too fast,
iv. Driving without headlights on (at night),
v. Turning with a wide radius,
vi. Straddling center lane,
vii. Weaving or swerving across road,
viii. Braking or stopping erratically or inappropriately,
ix. Driving erratically or recklessly,
x. Following too closely
xi. Slow response to traffic signals,
xii. Turning abruptly or illegally.
xiii. Signaling inconsistent with driving actions.
2. Conditions: The following are some conditions that may indicate that a driver is
impaired:
i. Odor of alcoholic beverage,
ii. Slurred speech,
iii. Blood-shot eyes,
iv. Dilated pupils,
v. Incoherent behavior,
vi. Presence of alcohol/drug containers.
vii. Odor of cannabis
D. Pre-Arrest Screening Exercises:
1. Request: If a member has reason to believe that a driver may be impaired, the
member may request that a driver take the standardized field sobriety exercises.
i. The exercises are to be conducted prior to making an arrest.
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ii. The member does not need to issue the driver a Miranda warning prior to the
issuance of the exercises.
iii. Visually assess and inquire whether a driver has any disabilities that would affect
the exercise results.
iv. Request an in-car camera, including microphone (if available) to film the exercises.
2. Refusal: The driver can refuse to take the exercises, and the member cannot compel
the driver to take them. If there is a refusal, the officer will explain the purpose of the
exercises and advise the driver of the consequences of not performing Field Sobriety
Exercises. These adverse consequences include the possibility that the suspect can
be arrested based on the available evidence and the subject’s refusal can be used
against him/her in court (Refer to LB 2015-21 Admissibility of FST Refusal).
3. Location: Members shall only conduct the exercises in a safe location, which is away
from vehicle traffic and not between stopped or parked vehicles.
4. Standardized Field Sobriety Exercises: Members shall only administer exercises
for which they have been properly trained and/or instructed. To detect impairment,
members shall first determine whether the person has a physical or medical condition
that would impede the field sobriety exercises. Such conditions may include eye
disease, glass eyes, injured or artificial legs, back problems, etc. Medical conditions
do not automatically preclude Field Sobriety Exercises but should be taken into
account.
i. Members shall administer the standardized field sobriety exercises recognized
by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The list below
is not an exhaustive list of approved exercises. The officer may use any
exercises they are trained to administer, including but not limited to, the
following exercises:
a. Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus
b. Walk-and-Turn,
c. One Leg Stand,
ii. For subjects who have medical or physical impediments to one or more of the
NHTSA standardized exercises, members may administer one or more of the
following recognized optional exercises:
a. Finger-to-Nose,
b. Hand Clap and Count
c. Fingertip-To-Thumb tip Count.
5. Notes: Members shall take detailed notes on the driver’s actions regarding how
exercises or, if not practicable, immediately following the exercises
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E. Probable Cause: Based on the subject’s driving and/or personal actions (to include field
sobriety exercises, if driver submits), the member shall determine whether probable cause
exists; if it does, the driver should be arrested. [61.1.2.a and 61.1.5a]
1. Physical control: To be arrested for DUI, a person must be driving a vehicle or be in
actual physical control of it. Factors that indicate physical control can include:
i. Location of vehicle,
ii. Position of person in vehicle,
iii. Running or warm engine,
iv. Keys in ignition,
v. Headlights/taillights on,
vi. Brake-lights on.
F. Arrest Procedures:
1. If the driver is arrested, the arresting officer shall:
i. Read the arrestee the motor vehicle DUI Implied Consent if the driver indicated a
refusal to testing. It is not necessary to read implied consent if the driver consents
to a breath, blood or urine test;
ii. Arrange for disposition of the driver’s vehicle using one of the following options
[See G.O. 84.2 for Department tow procedures]:
a Give the vehicle (with driver/owner’s permission) to a family member or friend
who has a driver’s license.
b Leave the vehicle secured, if legally parked.
c Tow the vehicle via contractual wrecker
1) If held as prisoner property,
2) If held as evidence pursuant to related (or unrelated) charges.
d Release the vehicle to a towing service of the driver’s choice if the wrecker can
respond in a reasonable amount of time.
iii. Transport the arrestee to the Gainesville Police Department, or any other available
facility with breath or other appropriate chemical testing equipment.
iv. Leave the charging documents, (white copy of any criminal citations and the
booking copy of the mittimus) with the booking-in staff at the Jail.
2. A person who is arrested for a DUI violation may not be released from custody:
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i. Until the person is no longer under the influence of alcoholic beverages, any
chemical substance set forth in FSS 877.111, or any substance controlled under
Chapter 893 and affected to the extent that his or her normal faculties are impaired;
ii. Until the person’s blood-alcohol level or breath-alcohol level is less than 0.05; or
iii. Until 8 hours have elapsed from the time the person was arrested.
3. Juvenile Arrest Procedures: Refer to General Order 44.3 Juvenile Arrests.
G. Breath Testing: After arresting the driver, members will arrange for the driver to be tested
for breath alcohol content when conditions permit.
1. The transporting officer shall request that a Department breath-testing operator
respond to the Gainesville Police Department breath test room or to the appropriate
facility.
NOTE: If no Department breath test operator is on duty, a member from another
agency may perform the test.
1. Breath testing shall be administered only by an FDLE certified breath test operator.
2. Miranda Rights do not need to be given pri