Believe it or not a police arrest a lot of people for DWI over the Thanksgiving holiday. It has become common place for the police departments in Tarrant County to implement the no refusal program on certain holidays. These holidays are Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Superbowl Sunday, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day. The Thanksgiving no refusal holiday will begin on Wednesday night and continue until Monday at 5:30 a.m.
There will be more police officers on the roads during this no refusal holiday. Officers will look for drivers that may be intoxicated. Additionally, during traffic stops, officers will be looking for signs of intoxication when speaking to drivers. If officers have reason to believe a driver is intoxicated, the driver may be asked to perform the standardized field sobriety tests. Based upon all of the things an officer observes, a police officer may decide to arrest the driver.
After a DWI arrest, the State requires drivers to give a blood or breath sample at the request of police officers. However, a driver can withdraw this consent. During the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, police officers will request warrants to take a person’s blood. If a magistrate issues a blood warrant, a technician will take a sample of the driver’s blood. The arresting officer will send the sample to a state lab to be tested. Recently, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office began publishing the names and ages of individuals arrested during no refusal holidays. This is in addition to jail, probation, fines, surcharges, or any other consequences under the law.
