HPD Vampires - Cops taking our blood against our will
An elected Harris County Criminal Court Judge and a former HPD DWI task force officer confirmed this week that HPD is in the process of training police officers to draw blood from suspects arrested for DWI / DUI. Wow - the police are now going to be in charge of arresting citizens (normal police function) and also performing a medical procedure (not a normal police function) on a person who is presumed to be innocent (supposedly).
Is it just me, or do others find this to be an incredibly disturbing new revelation? I expect that a person drawing my blood (for whatever reason) would have medical training and experience in dealing with the problems that might arise when drawing blood. The police should stick to what they do - arresting people - and let medical personnel handle the taking of blood.
I'm no medical professional, but what if a citizen suffers from hemophilia or any other blood clotting disorder? Is the cop that takes the blood going to even ask any questions before he/she sticks a needle in someone?
Unfortunately, Houston is not the only city trying to train its officers to forcibly take blood from Texas DWI suspects. Austin is right there with Houston and there are bound to be many others. Let me know your thoughts.
