Volunteers help police prep for impaired drivers
<p>Press reporter Jeff Selle takes a breathalyzer test with Idaho State Police Sergeant J.S. Greear at an advanced field sobriety test course for police officers on Wednesday at the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department Station 2. The two-day course was aimed at training law enforcement officers on techniques for administering field sobriety tests to drivers.</p>
<p>Mike Conklin of Spokane carefully follows the finger of Coeur d’Alene Police Officer Jake Nielsen during a field sobriety test Wednesday at the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department Station 2.</p>
Spirits were high during a police training exercise Wednesday in Coeur d'Alene.
Really high.
A handful of volunteers spent the afternoon drinking alcoholic beverages under the watchful eyes of law enforcement officers. The goal was to get the drinkers to various levels of intoxication so they could serve as guinea pigs in an effort to help new officers from throughout the region recognize impaired drivers.
Coeur d'Alene Police Officer Nick Knoll, a certified drug-recognition expert, helped organize the so-called wet lab exercise held in a training room at Coeur d'Alene Fire Station No. 2 at the intersection of Ramsey Road and Kathleen Avenue.
"It really takes skill to distinguish different levels of impairment," Knoll said.
It is illegal to drive in Idaho with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or more. For drivers under 21, the legal limit is .02 percent.
Some of the wet lab participants began controlled imbibing at 1:30 p.m. and others started drinking at 3:30 p.m.
By 5:30 p.m., the volunteers were obviously inebriated. There was a lot of laughing, some high-fiving, selfie-taking and "I love you, man"-type hugging.
Throughout the drinking, the volunteers submitted to breath tests that gauged their blood alcohol levels. Press reporter Jeff Selle was one of the volunteers.
"When I was at .054, there was no way I was going to drive," Selle said.
The police officers kept him drinking, and at 4 p.m, after consuming five 12-ounce alcoholic cider beverages, Selle's blood alcohol content was at .094. He started drinking water.
Around 6:30, Selle and the other volunteer drinkers were sent outside where they would be given field sobriety tests by the new officers. At that time, Selle's blood alcohol content was just over the legal limit at .082 percent.
"Remember, don't let on what your BAC is," said an Idaho State Police officer helping with the training. "How many drinks have you had? Two."
Selle and the other volunteers were subjected to several rounds of field sobriety tests by officers from different departments. They walked heel-to-toe for nine steps, tried to remain balanced while holding out one foot. They were asked to track a finger or pen with their eyes.
The officers repeatedly told Selle and the other volunteers that if the exercise were reality, they would be under arrest.
For the upcoming Labor Day weekend, police officers throughout Kootenai County are participating in an emphasis to deter drivers from getting behind the wheel after they've been drinking.
The training taking place in Coeur d'Alene is in preparation for the holiday weekend. Idaho is holding its first "No Refusal Weekend." During this time, police officers will seek search warrants ordering blood testing for DUI suspects who are arrested and refuse breath testing.
Knoll said the blood testing will be done at the hospital by a phlebotomist.
Pat Thompson, one of the volunteer drinkers, asked why the police were doing this. He said social drinkers will avoid drinking and driving this weekend.
Knoll said that's the point, to deter drinking and driving. He also acknowledged it won't stop everyone.
Knoll said he arrested a man on a felony DUI charge last week, and in that case, he had to get a search warrant for a blood test.
"He let his 7-year-old son drive part of the way home. It was his fifth or sixth DUI arrest," Knoll said. "A guy like that is never going to learn."