About 100 DWI suspects refuse blood, breath tests per month, APD says

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department's now full-time "No Refusal" initiative has been operational since October, and Detective Kristopher Morrison said APD initiatives it about 100 times a month.

At its core, the "No Refusal" initiative requires drivers to provide investigators with a breath or blood sample if they get pulled over for DWI - even if they try to refuse. The department does this by staffing a DWI specialist at the jail every night who can issue a search warrant for these drivers that forces them to submit a test sample.

"By obtaining a search warrant and getting blood evidence on a DWI investigation, it just confirms what officers on scene saw and adds more evidence to the case," said Detective Kristopher Morrison. This helps with the eventual prosecution of a DWI suspect.

Before October, this wouldn't take place every night, but instead, only on weekends, during holidays or major events, or full-time trial periods. The DWI specialist that issues the warrants is grant-funded.

Morrison said since the program launched full-time, APD has made about 250 DWI arrests monthly, and of those 250, about 100 people each month refuse to take a blood or breath test.

Real-life consequences of drinking and driving

Allan Richardson, the father of Jeffrey Richardson, a Poteet Police Officer hit and killed by a drunk driver near the Domain in 2022, is happy to see any effort to curb drinking and driving.

"It's just simple, don't drink and drive," he said.

Jeffrey, 35, a father of five, was working off-duty directing traffic at a construction site, when Lindsay Smith, who was 26 at the time, was drunk as she drove her car out of the Domain and hit Jeffrey near Mopac. This year, a jury sentenced her to 18 years in prison. Jurors had the option to give her probation but did not.

Smith pleaded guilty to the charge the day of her trial. All testimony that took place was to determine what her sentence would be.

"You have no idea what devastation you leave behind," Richardson said. "Jeff loved serving others, he died serving others and protecting others. He had a whole life ahead of him."

DWI penalties

Below is the punishment breakdown for DWI offenses in Texas, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. This does not include instances where someone was killed or seriously injured as a result of someone else driving drunk.

• First Offense: Up to a $2,000 fine, up to 180 days in jail, loss of driver's license for up to a year
• Second Offense: Up to a $4,000 fine, one month to one year in jail, loss of driver's license for up to two years
• Third Offense: $10,000 fine, 2-10 years in prison, loss of driver's license for up to two years