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ID: Officer's holding defendant's arm to make blood draw at scene was not unreasonable

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A DUI blood draw by an EMT at the scene was reasonable. The officer’s holding defendant’s wrists because he was uncooperative during the process was not unreasonable. State v. Wheeler, 2010 Ida. App. LEXIS 28 (April 9, 2010)*: The trial court correctly concluded that the blood draw was administered in a medically acceptable manner without unreasonable force. The person that drew Wheeler's blood was part of an ambulance crew and stated he was authorized to draw blood. Wheeler provided no evidence to the contrary. The evidence presented at the suppression hearing does not show that the location of the blood draw or the procedure was medically unacceptable. Further, the officers' holding of Wheeler's wrists was reasonable because he refused to cooperate in less-intrusive tests, protested the blood draw, and flexed his hand in an attempt to prevent it, and because it provided stability for the blood draw...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 13, 2010 (boomark / email).