Some Texas drivers were stopped at a police roadblock and asked for blood and saliva samples last week.
The checkpoint was conducted on a busy Fort Worth street last Friday afternoon. Drivers were stopped and directed into a parking lot, where federal government contractors asked them for the samples.
The stop was part of a $7.9 million, three-year National Highway Traffic Safety Administration survey that aims to determine how many people are driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The NHTSA said participation was “100 percent voluntary” and anonymous, but participants didn’t get that impression at all.
Kim Cope, who was on lunch break when she was forced to pull over at the roadblock, said it didn’t feel voluntary at all and described what happened to her:
“I gestured to the guy in front that I just wanted to go straight, but he wouldn’t let me and forced me into a parking spot. It just doesn’t seem right that you can be forced off the road when you’re not doing anything wrong.
“They were asking for cheek swabs. They would give $10 for that. Also, if you let them take your blood, they would pay you $50 for that.”
Cope said she felt trapped and and agreed to let them test her breath for alcohol:
“I finally did the Breathalyzer test just because I thought that would be the easiest way to leave.”
She said she didn’t receive any money for the test.
Fort Worth police earlier told NBC DFW that they could not immediately find any record of officer involvement, but on Tuesday police spokesman Sgt. Kelly Peel said that the department’s Traffic Division coordinated with the NHTSA on the use of off-duty officers after the agency asked for help with the survey:
“We are reviewing the actions of all police personnel involved to ensure that FWPD policies and procedures were followed,” he said. “We apologize if any of our drivers and citizens were offended or inconvenienced by the NHTSA National Roadside Survey.”
NBC DFW confirmed that the survey was done by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, a government contractor.
Frank Colosi is a Fort Worth attorney who is an expert in civil liberties law. He questioned whether the stops are constitutional:
“You can’t just be pulled over randomly or for no reason.”
They’re essentially lying to you when they say it’s completely voluntary, because they’re testing you at that moment,” he said. He noted that the fine print on a form given to drivers informs them their breath was tested by “passive alcohol sensor readings before the consent process has been completed.”
Colosi also questioned the results of the “voluntary” survey, speculating that drivers who had been drinking or using drugs would be more likely to simply decline to participate.
Cope said, “It just doesn’t seem right that they should be able to do any of it. If it’s voluntary, it’s voluntary, and none of it felt voluntary.”
This “voluntary” survey may be coming to your area – the government is conducting the studies in 30 cities in the U.S.