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Labor Day Weekend: Increased No Refusal Operations, DWI and BWI Enforcement
Starting Friday, September 2, 2022, and continuing through Labor Day, Monday, September 5, 2022, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office, in conjunction with both state and local law enforcement agencies, will increase No Refusal Operations and Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) and Boating While Intoxicated (BWI) Enforcement on the roadways of Montgomery County and on Lake Conroe. The goal of this initiative is to prevent boating and traffic-related crashes and deaths caused by impaired drivers during this holiday weekend.
During this time, the District Attorney’s office, through their No Refusal TxDOT Grant, will provide nurses, prosecutors, and investigators at various locations throughout the county and on Lake Conroe to assist law enforcement in obtaining blood evidence in cases were a DWI/BWI suspect refuses to provide a scientific sample.
The process is simple but effective: 1) an officer makes a DWI/BWI arrest and asks the suspect for a breath or blood sample; 2) if the suspect refuses, the officer then meets with a prosecutor who will draft a search warrant for the suspect’s blood; 3) the warrant is sent to an on-call judge who will review the warrant for probable cause; 4) if probable cause is found, a nurse will then take a sample of the DWI/BWI suspect’s blood.
These No Refusal Operations ensure that scientific evidence is obtained in all DWI and BWI cases and provide the prosecution with strong evidence of guilt or innocence. Many Montgomery County law enforcement agencies have committed to increasing the number of officers on the streets to catch as many impaired drivers as possible.
Vehicular Crimes Chief Brittany Hansford shared, “We want to remind everyone that law enforcement will continue to work tirelessly to keep our community safe from impaired drivers. If you are impaired, do not get behind the wheel of a car or a boat. At a minimum, you will risk arrest and conviction, but you also risk your own life or taking that of another. Just don’t do it.”
Source: Michael R. Holley, First Assistant District Attorney, Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office
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