April 20, 2009 www. theAccent.org Volume 2, Issue 5 Austin policeout or bloo d Administ rat ion o pp os es six drop rule Trevor Goodchild Staff Writer Austin Police ChieArt Acevedo backs Senate Bill 261, sponsored by Senator Bob Deuell, which amends laws to allow drawing blood rom DWI suspects who reuse a breath test. As oMarch 31 the bill is in the senate Criminal Justice Subcommittee and has not yet reached the House. IAcevedo’s plan to increase blood draws succeeds, ACC might b e used to train Austin police ocers to be phlebotomists. Te CityCounsel and the Austin Police Department are debating the issue right now. “Te program would require us to go to Austin Community College; it is one otwo phlebotomy training programs that are nationally accredited in the country,” Acevedo said. Te phlebotomy program at ACC is a one- semester, stand-alone program. Te program can be taken without having a higher degree plan. Eileen Klein, Dean othe Medical echnology and Phlebotomy department and Department chair erry Kotrla, are aware othe police chie’s plan to train ocers at ACC. “We [department chair and Dean] have been in constant communication about this... this is not set in cement yet. Until they [APD and City Council] have their ducks in a row we’re not going to go or it,” Kotrla said. Tere are many ducks that need to be in many rows, as Austin’s City Council cannot rewrite exas law. According to exas ransportation Code 724.013, taking blood samples rom DWI suspects who reuse to have it taken is illegal unless the criteria odeath or serious bodilyinjury have been met. Some othese issues were discussed at a public orum hosted by exans or Accountable Gover nment (AG). On March 30 at City Hall a orum was held with a panel comprised oAcevedo, Council Member Mike Martinez, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the AG Executive Director John Bush. Te moderator, David Kobierowski, presented the Supreme Court case Beeman v. exas as a possible wayaround 724.103 to the panel and audience oAustinites. Knowel Beeman appealed the drawing ohis blood because his arrest didn’t meet the exas transportation code’s criteria, but lost. In an aside, Francis Monte negro, a criminal deense lawyer who attended the event called this “ judicial activism,” and stated it does not rewrite the exas Law that is already in place. Bush spoke in detail in the panel about the rights g uaranteed by the Ninth Amendment and the right to privacy he elt would not be protected with blood draws. “I know iwe continue this practice oorcib le blood withdrawals, the city oAustin residents are not going to lay down without putting up a ght,” said Bush. Te chieopolice had another viewpoint about the drawing oblood authorized under the implied consent laws. “I don’t know how to break it to people, but when you break the law you lose some rights,” Acevedo said. He also justied wanting to train police ocers at ACC because hospitals were reusing blood draws rom DWI suspects due to liability concerns. Even the jail nurse at the Austin Police Department will not draw blood or the APD to prove isomeone is over the legal limit. “When you look at the economic toll, the emotional toll and the toll on our communities...I think personally it’s kind oirresponsible [or nurses to reuse],” Acevedo said. Brackenridge, Seton, and St. David’s hospital were all mentioned at the orum, and identied or reusing to do blood draws when DWI suspects were brought in by APD. Dr. Steven Berkowitz, the ChieMedical Ocer oSt. David’s hospital’s ve locations in Austin shared his perspective on Acevedo’s proposed policy. “A orensic lab has certain policies and procedures...they do a chain ocustody. Everyone signs oon legal documents. Let’s sayyou were accused oa DWI. How do you know that blood was actually yours? Because we don’t have orensic capabiliti es, we cannot say in a court olaw that that was your blood,” Berkowitz said. Te ederal grant to train ocers at ACC would come rom National Highwayand rac SaetyAssociation (NHSA). Despite this, hospitals aren’t alone in their scrutiny othis policy. Some othe City Counsel members criticize its price tag. “It is going to cost millions upon millions odollars to collect and store the DNA and maintain it in a secure process. Tere are too many questions and until those questions get answered I don’t think the city oAustin should be engaged in taking blood samples and storing them,” Martinez said. Acevedo cited that Arizona has been doing blood testing since the 1990s and claimed Te ACC administration is asking state representatives to back legislation that would remove community colleges rom the six drop rule. “We eel that our students at community college are not just students who pay their ull tuition, take a ull load and then all the other things they do in their lie is study,” said Linda Young, special assistant to the president or External Aairs at ACC. “Teyare people who work, some othem work two jobs, some othem come part time, some othem take a ull load and workull time.” “Students at ACC manytimes have responsibilities outside othe classroom, like they have to drop a class to take care othose responsibili- ties,” said Young. Te current policy states that students may only drop six courses throughout their entire undergraduate career. Tere are some exceptions to the policy. For example ithere is a death in the amilyor there is a change in workschedule, a student can drop a course without it counting against them ithey provide the proper documentation. “Te key is or students to be successul in their courses, and that is what we reallyconcentrate on,” said Kathleen Christensen, Vice President oStudent Support and Success Systems. She eels the six drop rule is unnecessary because ACC already monitors the course completion rate oall credit students and has a policy in place or dealing with students who drop too manycourses. Representative Roberto ree community colleges rom the burden othe six drop rule. “I had an uncomortable eeling,” said Alonzo othe six drop rule when it was rst made part oexas Education policy. So when ACC’s oce oExternal Aairs asked ihe could write a Bill dealing with the issue, Alonzo gladlycomplied. “For junior college olks it’s kind oa dierent situation,” says Alonzo. “I think we need to look at helping students out.” Te Bill is in the House Higher Education commit- tee, and Alonzo thinks it has a chance at being passed but encourages students who have a strong opinion on the six drop rule to e-mail him and let him know how they eel. “It is important ithere are students who eel very stronglyabout it to let me know,” said Alonzo. “I think it’s right, and that’s why I introduced the leg- islation, but the more support Jaa Lelek • Layot Editor Interest in teaching drives ACC nursing stdet back to school after e years Jamie Carpenter Campus Editor Lisa Heap dropped out oschool her senior year as a biochemistry major. Five years passed beore she returned to college. Since summer o20 07, Heap has worked on her asso- ciate degree in nursing at ACC. While attending ACC, she has decided to become a nursing teacher. She credits Proessor oNursing Helen Harkreader as helping to inspire her. “I would like to become a nursing proessor and she [Harkreader] ormed a lot omy ideas owhat a good nursing proessor looks like. Nurses can be very particu- lar. Tere is a very ne line between being too strict and being too lenient. Tey have to be strict with us because we could hurt someone, but they have to be lenient because Nursing Student Lisa Heap is likely to be ound in the learning lab early KeiForester • StaPhotographer COLLeGe ȩ continued on page 3 Teodora Erbes • StaPhotographer All Abot the Art Show, pg. 5 AC C phlebotomy certifcates or cops a possibility Ocials ask Leg. to exempt commity college students Chris Smith Staff Writer
