Very few, if any, police departments have their own labs. State police and the feds are just about the only ones that do. Some really big ones do, but most don't and especially for situations like this the blood alcohol test is just run at the hospital where the blood is drawn. There are issues with licensing, competency, proficiency testing, and compliance that most police departments just don't what to deal with.srothstein wrote:They take the drunk to the hospital for a blood sample, then send this sample to the police lab for testing.
My wife has been eliminated from a couple of jury pools because she used to work in a hospital lab that performed these tests for the local PD. When the defense attorney asked if she could read and interpret a BAC (blood alcohol content) report she replied, "Yes." She was dismissed. Can't have anyone on the jury he can't blow smoke into.