Minnesota BCA identifies more cases impacted by breathalyzer errors
Minnesota BCA explains breathalyzer errors impacting tests
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says it has identified ?human errors? that have led to the state suspending its breathalyzer tests for the time being.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says it has identified new DWI cases potentially impacted by "human errors" that have led to the state temporarily suspending its breathalyzer tests.
Breathalyzer tests suspended
The backstory:
On Friday, the Minnesota BCA announced it had suspended the use of breathalyzer tests in Minnesota and ordered a review of the devices due to errors found in multiple counties.
Officials said the error was related to dry gas cylinders installed on the devices and used as a control for accurate readings.
Big picture view:
On Friday, the BCA said at least 146 cases statewide had been impacted by the faulty tests. On Monday, they updated that figure to potentially 276 cases that may be impacted. For context, there have been about 15,000 tests conducted in Minnesota so far in 2025.
But a defense attorney told FOX 9 the issue could end up impacting thousands of cases.
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Minnesota?s law enforcement officials are saying that faulty breathalyzer data could potentially impact hundreds of DWI cases. FOX 9?s Mike Manzoni has the latest details.
"There are 20-some thousand DWI breath test cases every year, and these machines have been in operation for about 13 years," said Chuck Ramsay, a Roseville-based criminal defense attorney who represents the Aitkin County client. "I know all of them aren’t bad, but some of them are bad. But where does it fall in that continuum? Nobody knows right now."
Minnesota BCA identifies new cases impacted
Big picture view:
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Minnesota BCA Superintendent Drew Evans demonstrated the issue at hand. Evans explained the state has 220 breathalyzer devices deployed across the state.
All 4,500 people who use the devices get extensive training. But, the BCA says it has uncovered a "number of human errors" with the devices, particularly with changing out the dry gas cylinders.
However, Evans said even though there may have been errors with the tests, it doesn't necessarily mean that the results were incorrect. Because of that, they are reviewing the issue on a case-by-case basis.
What they're saying:
"Those data entry errors may or may not actually impact the validity of the results in that process," noted Evans on Monday.
But the criminal defense attorney who uncovered the issue disagrees.
"These results are unsupportable in court," said Chuck Ramsay, whose client’s case was withdrawn after the issue surfaced in Aitkin County. "What is he going to do? Is he going to force scientists to testify that they are accurate? He can’t do that; they would be committing perjury. So, I was really disappointed that he misled the public by making that statement."
What's next:
The state is asking local law enforcement to conduct "a simple five minute" check of its breathalyzers. If they determine the breathalyzers are working properly, they can resume using the devices.
Moving forward, the BCA says state crews will handle changing the dry gas cylinders to ensure it's done correctly.