Some Valley residents might be aware that for several years now, police officers throughout Maricopa County have been conducting blood draws, without warrants, on people they have placed under arrest for DUI. Others may not be aware that the large Phoenix PD vans you see parked on the side of the road are actually mini-blood draw stations where arrestees are interviewed, pricked, and had their blood removed from their bodies by officers within a limited time of arrest. Furthermore, these blood draws aren’t just done in vans or at police stations, during DUI Task force events, arrestees are taken to any number of bizarre places throughout the valley like sports stadiums and gas stations, where a myriad ofarrestees are waiting in line like cattle to have their blood drawn and packaged up and handed over to the impatiently waiting police officers who arrested them. Until now, Scottsdale was one of the jurisdictions that, if you were arrested there, you were generally taken to the hospital to have your blood drawn by a phlebotomist, who was usually a hospitalnurse. (A phlebotomist is a person who has been trained in drawing blood). However, Scottsdale has recently put some of its officers through a five day phlebotomy class, and arrestees in Scottsdale will no longer have the luxury of being escorted to the hospital and drawn on by a professional. But,just because the officers have the capability to draw your blood, does not mean that you should necessarily immediately consent to the blood draw. If you are arrested for DUI, before you consent to any physical or chemical testing, you should ask for a private phone call and call an experienced attorney immediately. The officers will make it seem like youhave no choice, but in reality, you do have a legal right to speak with an attorney as long as you are not unduly delaying an investigation. We are available 24/7.
