CHICOPEE (WWLP) – The Northwestern District Attorney’s office announced yesterday that breathalyzer results will not be used in their pending drunk driving cases. The decision comes after a state agency launched an investigation into the test’s reliability.
As of right now, defendants in O.U.I cases out of Franklin and Hampshire Counties, as well as the town of Athol, will not have breathalyzer results used as evidence against them. In Essex and Middlesex counties, along with Cape Cod, prosecutors are looking at old cases for evidence of questionable breathalyzer results.
Springfield Attorney Ryan Alekman, of the Alekman & DiTusa law firm said this doesn’t mean drunk drivers are off the hook. He says other evidence can be considered.
“It could be bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, odor of alcohol on their breath, they’re unsteady on their feet,” he said. “Police can still conduct field sobriety tests, although their reliability is nowhere near what the breathalyzers is,”
The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security is now reviewing breathalyzer tests. The office said it’s still unclear if there even is an issue with the tests. So, the efforts taken by prosecutors is out of extreme caution.
