Connecticut to Start Using Newer Breathalyzers

Authorities say Connecticut will spend nearly $1 million to replace breath analysis devices used by police to test suspected drunk drivers.

State officials signed a contract last month with Draeger Safety Diagnostics of Irving, Texas, for $975,000 for 150 new devices.

A state police spokesman says they are more technologically advanced than the seven-year-old breath analysis device that Connecticut currently uses, the Intoxilizer 5000.

Those devices are under fire in a case involving a Norwalk defendant, whose attorney alleges the breathalyzers discriminate against blacks.

That attorney says black men have less lung capacity than white men and, therefore, black men’s test results vary from the sobriety standard set by the device.

State officials say the decision to replace the older devices is unrelated to those allegations.
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Information from: Connecticut Post