PLATTE CITY, Mo. (AP) - Platte County prosecutors say the county will be the first in the Kansas City area taking blood samples from suspected drunken drivers who refuse breath tests.
Prosecutor Eric Zahnd says a measure approved last year in the state Legislature allows authorities to take blood from suspected drunken drivers without getting a search warrant.
The Kansas City Star reports suspected drunken drivers will be given the chance to provide a breath sample, but if they refuse a nurse will be brought in to draw blood.
Zahnd's office filed 300 criminal charges in 2010 against motorists suspected of driving drunk. He says 57 of those refused to give breath samples.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker says the practice would soon begin in her county.
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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com