Blood Collection Requests for Law Enforcement

Section 2 - EMERGENCY OPERATIONS

PURPOSE:

To establish guidelines for drawing blood for law enforcement for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content or presence of chemical substances. Law Enforcement shall include: Maitland Police Department, Orange County Sheriffs Office, Florida Highway Patrol, Eatonville Police Department or any other law enforcement agency represented on a MVA scene.

PROCEDURE:

• Per Florida State Statute #: 316.1933 if a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe a person driving or in control of a vehicle is under the influence of alcohol, chemical substance(s), or controlled substance(s) and has caused the serious bodily injury or death of a human being, the law enforcement officer shall request that the person driving or in actual physical control of the motor vehicle to submit to a test of the person’s blood for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content or the presence of chemical substances. State Statute permits that if the law enforcement officer deems it necessary, he/she may use reasonable force to ensure that the person submits to the administration of the blood test.
• Per Statute 316.1933 (b) the term “serious bodily injury” means an injury to any person, including the driver, which consists of physical condition that creates a substantial risk of death, serious personal disfigurement, or protracted loss of impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.
• When requested by Law Enforcement to obtain a blood specimen, The Officer in Charge must contact the on duty Battalion Chief to advise of the situation so a review of the options may be considered. This must occur before attempting to obtain the specimen.
• The blood draw will be performed utilizing a Law Enforcement kit provided by the agency, with explicit instructions. Instructions must be followed without variance in order for the blood to be entered into evidence. In the event that the Paramedic is unable to obtain a sample using the vacutainer system provided, they may utilize a needle and syringe and transfer the blood sample to the blood specimen tubes included in the law enforcement kit assembly as long as this equipment is placed in the evidence container. (316.1933 #4b)
• It is the intent of the Maitland Fire Rescue Department to obtain verbal consent from the patient prior to the test.
• If the person refuses to consent, state statute does permit the law enforcement officer to use reasonable force to obtain the specimen. The Battalion Chief and OIC will weigh risk vs. benefit when making a decision to draw blood on a person that refuses to consent. When at all possible, the person should be transported to the hospital utilizing reasonable force and the blood shall be drawn in that setting. This will help avoid unnecessary risk of injury to our members and/or the patient. The OIC or Battalion Chief shall contact the receiving hospital to ascertain if a significant delay will be encountered. If timely action can not be insured (i.e. hospitals on delay) and the benefit outweighs the risk (i.e. serious bodily injury or death) the decision to draw the blood in the field may be made.
• A maximum of 2 attempts will be made to obtain the sample.
• If blood is drawn for the purpose of determining blood alcohol level and/or presence of chemical substance, the Paramedic will document the activity on the PCR.