Arresting officer, duties
When a police officer arrests someone for drunk driving and that person's blood alcohol level was at or above the legal limit (or at or above a lower limit for anyone under 21), the officer has to send a detailed report to the state motor vehicle department. That report must include who was arrested, why the officer believed a law was broken, any chemical test results, and a copy of the ticket filed with the court. The report has to be signed under oath, meaning the officer can get in trouble for lying on it. Also, a local city or county drunk driving offense can only be used to suspend or take away a driver's license if the arresting officer (who is not an elected official) is licensed by the state's public safety department.
302.510. Arresting officer, duties — certain arrests not to be basis for or . — 1. Except as provided in 3 of this section, a who arrests any person for a violation of any state statute related to driving while or for a violation of a prohibiting driving while intoxicated or a county or alcohol-related traffic , and in which the in the person's blood, breath, or urine was eight-hundredths of one percent or more or two-hundredths of one percent or more by weight for anyone less than twenty-one years of age, shall forward to the a of all relevant to the , including information which adequately identifies the arrested person, a statement of the officer's grounds for belief that the person violated any state statute related to driving while intoxicated or was less than twenty-one years of age and was driving with two-hundredths of one percent or more by weight of alcohol in the person's blood, or a county or municipal ordinance prohibiting driving while intoxicated or a county or municipal alcohol-related traffic offense, a report of the results of any chemical tests which were conducted, and a copy of the and filed with the court.
2. The report required by this section shall be under for making a false statement to a public official and made on forms supplied by the department or in a manner specified by regulations of the department.
3. A county or municipal ordinance prohibiting driving while intoxicated or a county or municipal alcohol-related traffic offense may not be the basis for suspension or revocation of a driver's sections 302.500 to 302.540, unless the arresting law enforcement officer, other than an or official, has been licensed by the of the department of public safety pursuant to the of chapter 590.
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Source & history notes
(L. 1983 S.B. 318 & 135 § 4, A.L. 1984 S.B. 608 & 681, A.L. 1991 S.B. 125 & 341, A.L. 1996 H.B. 1169 & 1271 merged with S.B. 722, A.L. 2001 H.B. 302 & 38, A.L. 2005 H.B. 487)
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