Policy Text
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Rancho Cordova Police Dept.
Chemical Testing of DUI Arrestees
The purpose of this Order is to outline the procedures and circ umstances in which
officers should obtain a chemical test sample from a subject wh o has been arrested for
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and/or Drugs.
I. Policy
It shall be the policy of the Sacr amento County Sheriff’s Depar tment to obtain
chemical test samples from arre stee’s where the chemical test m ay result in
evidence that is likely to be re levant in subsequent administra tive or judicial
proceedings related to the enforce ment of Driving Under the Inf luence laws.
An officer should obtain chemic al test samples from arrestees i n all cases when
the arrest takes place within a reasonable time period after th e commission of the
related crime, and it is likely that evidence of drugs and/or a lcohol remain present
in the arrestee’s chemical sampl e. Chemical tests shall be con ducted in
accordance with applicable legal requirements and in a manner t hat preserves
the integrity and admissi bility of the evidence.
An officer must have legal sear ch authority to conduct a chemic al test. To
conduct a chemical test, officers shall have consent, searchabl e probation/parole
status, exigent circumstanc es or a search warrant.
II. Procedure
A. Selection of a Test
1. Officers shall advise the driver o f the chemical testing requir ements
affecting them. These requirement s are found in CVC 13353, CVC
13353.1, CVC 23154 and CVC 23612 . This advisement may be
completed by reading the Chemical Test Admonition directly from
the back of the DMV DS367 or DMV DS367M if the driver is a
minor.
2. Alcohol only DUI Cases
a. An arrestee shall have the c hoice of completing a breath tes t
or a blood test.
3. Drug Only DUI Cases and Drug-Al cohol Combination DUI Cases
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Rancho Cordova Police Dept. a. Procedurally, the arrestee shall have the choice of
completing a breath test or a blood test. However, if an
arrestee selects a breath test , the arrestee shall be allowed
to complete the breath test but shall be notified that a blood
test is also required.
b. A blood test shall be completed.
c. Blood tests shall not be obt ained from an arrestee who is
afflicted with hemophilia or wh o is using an anticoagulant
medication. A urine test s hall be obtained from these
arrestees.
B. Breath Test
1. Breath tests only detect alcohol.
2. Breath tests shall be completed on the Drager Alcotest 7110 MK III-
C breath machine which is maint ained by the Sacramento District
Attorney’s Crime Laboratory.
3. Prior to obtaining a br eath sample an officer shall complete an d
follow the Drager Alcotest 7110 MK III-C Precautionary Checklis t.
The results of the breath test s hall be attached to the checkli st.
4. Breath tests shall be complet ed by trained officers, following
protocols determined by the crime lab.
5. A driver who completes a breath test shall be given the followi ng
advisement pursuant to CVC 23614:
“This Breath test equipment does not retain any sample of the
breath and that no breath sample will be available after the test
which could be analyzed later by that person or any other person.
You have the opportunity to provi de a blood or urine sample that
will be retained at no cost to you so there will be something retained that may be subsequent ly analyzed for the alcoholic
content of your blood. This sample may be tested by either party
in any criminal prosecution.”
C. Blood Tests
1. Blood draws shall only be comp leted by trained medical perso nnel.
2. Blood draws should be conduct ed at the Main Jail by the assi gned
jail phlebotomist. When it is nec essary and the circumstances
justify a blood draw to be done at a location other than the Ma in
Jail, the on-call phlebotomist m ay be requested to respond and
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Rancho Cordova Police Dept. conduct the blood draw. The circum stances will be documented i n
the report.
3. If a driver is being treated at a hospital an officer will r equest the
hospital medical staff to colle ct an evidentiary sample.
a. Officers shall request the hospital staff to collect an
evidentiary blood sample .
b. If the hospital staff is unable or unwilling to collect the
sample in a reasonable amount o f time, then officers shall
request the on-call phlebotomist to respond to the hospital to
collect the sample .
4. Officers collecting blood s pecimens from suspects for a bloo d test
shall:
a. Label the blood evidence box.
b. Request the phlebotomist or ot her appropriate medical
personnel to conduct the blood draw.
c. Obtain the full name, titl e and employer of the person
conducting the