Houston Police Officers Training in Blood Draws

A new step is being taken to get as many drunken drivers off the street as possible, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.

Seven Houston police officers are sitting in class at Lone Star College in north Harris County this week. They are learning to become phlebotomists to take blood from drunk driving suspects.

“Time is our enemy,” said traffic enforcement officer Don Egdorf.

He is taking the 40-hour course.

He said, “Instead of us having to go through the process of either with a mandatory draw or getting a search warrant ,and you’ve got to go to a medical facility, have a nurse, may have to get checked out with a doctor. We can actually do that blood draw ourselves once we complete this course.”

First, the students practiced with an artificial arm. Then, they move on to the real thing — drawing blood from their classmates.

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