Texas Blood Test Hypocrisy? Why was a Tarrant County officer not forced to give a blood test? by Collin County DWI attorney Troy Burleson
by Collin, Dallas and Denton County DWI Lawyer Troy Burleson
This is interesting! According to a recent news report form Tarrant County, a Fort Worth off duty officer was charged with DWI. According to the report, Officer Guillermo "Bill" Hernandez, 40, has been placed on restricted duty -- he is not allowed to carry a badge or gun -- until an internal investigation is complete, said Lt. Paul Henderson, a police spokesman.
The facts of the case indicate that officer Guillermo was seen failing to maintain a single lane of traffic and then pulled over by a Tarrant Regional Water District officer in northwest Fort Worth. The officer reported that a strong odor of alcohol came from the pickup's cab and Hernandez's breath, and that Hernandez's speech was slurred.
What is curious about this case is that the officer did not seek a Blood Test warrant for Officer Guillermo’s blood. As we have reported many times here, Tarrant County has seemed to taken the lead for local counties requiring mandatory blood tests from citizens suspected of drunk driving. I wonder why Officer Guillermo was not strapped to a gurney where his blood was forcibly removed. If Tarrant County is so hell-bent on doing this macabre tactic to regular citizens to ostensibly protect the roadways, then why are they not willing to do it to one of there own? As my grandmother used to say, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”
