Senator Tim Grandle of Ohio advocated for an improved response to DUIs in 2010. In an effort to make it more difficult for drunk drivers to refuse breathalyzer tests, he pushed for the state to modify its DUI laws to allow EMTs and paramedics to draw a person’s blood to test their blood alcohol content (BAC). Originally, only doctors and nurses could administer blood tests.
Ohio courts also had a history of strictly recognizing BAC findings presented by doctors and nurses. Prior to Grandle’s support of this DUI proposal, neither EMTs nor paramedics could administer BAC blood tests upon a person’s arrest, let alone at the scene of their arrest.
Criminal defense attorney Brad Koffel argued that allowing paramedics and EMTs to perform blood tests would complicate the legal process and open DUI cases up to false interpretations. He expressed concern about the sterility of arrest scenes and suggested that officers could instead drive someone to a hospital to initiate a blood test.
Koffel also argued that allowing EMTs and paramedics to perform these tests would take them off of the streets, limiting their ability to serve victims in need of medical support after accidents.