MSP On Breathalyzer Fraud: 8 Departments Now Being Investigated
MICHIGAN (PATCH) — The Michigan State Police says it is aggressively investigating potential fraud committed by contract employees supplying the breathalyzers used around the state.
MSP said that it is looking into the Datamaster vendor, Intoximeters, and also moving to take all 203 Datamaster DMT evidential breath alcohol testing instruments out of service until MSP can inspect and verify each instrument to ensure it is properly calibrated.
In the meantime, the MSP has recommended that local police agencies utilize blood draws rather than breath tests to establish evidence of drunk driving.
A look into the fraud case
On Jan. 10, 2020, the MSP alerted prosecutors and police departments statewide that it had issued a stop order on the current vendor's contract due to performance-related issues. The vendor, Intoximeters, employs three contract employees who were responsible for servicing all 203 Datamaster DMT instruments in the state, and it is records from these service sessions that are in question.
Authorities have reviewed vendor records in the last two days which they say has yielded additional discrepancies that may point to the potential for a more widespread issue with the way in which some instruments were being serviced.
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