Ohio State Senator Wants to Rethink Purchase of DUI Testing Equipment
Ohio State Senator John Carey recently voiced his concern that the Ohio Controlling Board acted too hastily by approving the spending of $6.4 million for new drunk driving testing machines. Senator Carey's opinions surfaced following the release of several reports in The Plain Dealer which describe how thousands of driving under the influence cases have been delayed or dismissed due to questions of accuracy of the Intoxilyzer 8000. The Ohio Controlling Board plans to utilize the funds to purchase several Intoxilyzer 8000 models for distribution across the state.
Late last Friday, Senator Carey wrote a letter to President of the Controlling Board, Joe Secrest, voicing his concern over the newly drafted contract and requesting that funding approval be put on hold until several issues regarding the Intoxilyzer 8000 can be addressed. Senator Carey also stated in the letter that he is concerned about the lawsuits against the company that manufactures the Intoxilyzer 8000, CMI Inc. Carey wrote, "My greatest concern is that, as a result of pending litigation in other states, DWI offenders could potentially get off as a result of using these machines...At the very least, it seems likely we will be in for lengthy and costly litigation issues surrounding CMI's refusal to release source code information...have been cleared up."
Adding to Senator Carey's speculation of the new contract between the state of Ohio and CMI, Inc., it has come to light that the Chief of the Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Testing at the Ohio Department of Health, Dean Ward, has admitted to maintaining friendships with individuals employed by CMI. Ward was the individual who made the decision to offer the exclusive contract to CMI. CMI is charging the state of Ohio almost $9,000 per machine, while other states that used a competitive bidding process ended up paying significantly less for their breath testing equipment.
National Patent President John Fusco stated that he could not understand why the state of Ohio would agree to an exclusive deal with an out of state company, especially in light of the newsworthy legal troubles CMI has been enduring over the past several months. CMI competitors, including National Patent Analytical Systems, Inc., who made about ninety percent of DUI testing machines currently used within the state of Ohio, accused Ward of steering the contract to his friends at CMI.
In defense of his decision to enter into a contract with CMI, Ward stated that he has used CMI's products since his years as a Cincinnati police officer and that in his experiences with the Intoxilyzer 8000, he found the machine to be incredibly reliable. Ward emphasized that his decision to utilize CMI's products was not based on his friendship with CMI's employees and that the Ohio Department of Public Safety would work to address Senator Carey's concerns.
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