“No Refusal” Campaign

TYLER — The Tyler Police Department and other Smith County law enforcement agencies will be out in force during the New Year holiday on the lookout for drunken drivers, and they won�t be taking �no� for an answer. Starting Thursday and continuing through Sunday, a multi-joint effort between the Smith County District Attorney�s Office and police agencies from all over Smith County will participate in the “No-Refusal” DWI Campaign once again. Upon the arrest of a suspected drunk driver, he or she will be asked if they would submit to blow into a breath-test machine or take a blood test. If the driver refuses, officers will obtain an immediate search warrant signed by a judge on call to have blood drawn by a nurse on staff at the Smith County Jail. The blood is then analyzed to determine whether the driver�s blood-alcohol concentration is 0.08 or higher, the legal limit for driving in Texas.

Tyler police say this program has proven to be an effective tool to combat drunken drivers. According to a police department news release, it is the intent of all law enforcement agencies that this effort will act as a deterrent, persuading people to avoid driving while intoxicated because they know that police officers will be conducting sobriety testing with or without driver�s consent. Simply put, according to police: “Please don�t drink and drive!”