Posted 9/13/2009 04:17:00 PM by Douglas

Police: To protect and serve, and if you disagree, forcibly stick a needle in your arm and remove some of your blood to use as evidence against you in court.

When police officer Darryll Dowell is on patrol in the southwestern Idaho city of Nampa, he'll pull up at a stoplight and usually start casing the vehicle. Nowadays, his eyes will also focus on the driver's arms, as he tries to search for a plump, bouncy vein.

"I was looking at people's arms and hands, thinking, 'I could draw from that,'" Dowell said.

Geez, right off the bat the article summarizes everything that's repugnant about such plans: The cop isn't looking for someone driving dangerously because he's inebriated. He's looking for a sweet, juicy vein to sink a needle into. But it gets worse:

It's all part of training he and a select cadre of officers in Idaho and Texas have received in recent months to draw blood from those suspected of drunken or drugged driving. The federal program's aim is to determine if blood draws by cops can be an effective tool against drunk drivers and aid in their prosecution.

Starr hopes the new system will cut down on the number of drunken driving trials. Officers can't hold down a suspect and force them to breath into a tube, she noted, but they can forcefully take blood — a practice that's been upheld by Idaho's Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

I don't always agree with the Supreme Court, and I know they've repeatedly upheld these forced blood draws, but I don't understand how, in a kazillion years, this doesn't violate the Fifth Amendment when it comes self-incrimination.

Cops cruising around with syringes looking for drunks like a bunch of thirsty vampires. As long as bars have parking lots and criminal BAL is 0.08%, anyone leaving a bar after three drinks is a criminal. Why don't police just arrest people at the door.

I'm sure it's coming.