Correction: This story originally contained the incorrect amount of the annual contract with Toximeters Inc.

LANSING, MI -- Michigan state police on Monday, Jan. 13, halted use of 203 breathalyzer machines utilized to determine blood-alcohol levels in drunk driving cases statewide.

“Based on new information learned over the weekend, the Michigan State Police (MSP) is aggressively investigating potential fraud committed by contract employees of Datamaster vendor, Intoximeters, and also moving today to take all 203 Datamaster DMT evidential breath-alcohol testing instruments out of service until MSP can inspect and verify each instrument to ensure it is properly calibrated,” state police Col. Joseph Gasper said in a statement issued Monday evening. “In the interim period, the MSP recommends that police agencies utilize blood draws rather than breath tests to establish evidence of drunk driving.

" ... At this early stage in the investigation, the MSP does not know how many certification records were falsified or how long these deceptive practices were occurring."

State police continue to investigate but have identified “discrepancies" related to machines used by the following agencies or at the following locations:

• Alpena County Sheriff’s Department

• Beverly Hills Police Department

• Detroit Detention Center

• Montcalm County Sheriff’s Department

• Niles Police Department

• Pittsfield Township Police Department

• Tecumseh Police Department

• Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department

In Michigan, driver’s give “implied consent” by virtue of having a driver’s license to submit to a breathalyzer or blood test upon being arrested for an intoxicated driving offense, said Michael Komorn, a Farmington Hills-based drugged- and drunk-driving attorney, who also specializes in marijuana law.

If a driver refuses a test, they face an automatic six-month driver’s license suspension from the state.

“If you refuse, they’re usually going to request a search warrant," Komorn said. “So they’re still going to get your blood somehow, probably.”

State police are re-certifying and calibrating machines across the state but have not released a timeline regarding how long the process may take to complete.

The agency on Jan. 7 issued a “stop order” on a lucrative, 2018-signed contract currently worth nearly $1.3 million annually with St. Louis-based Intoximeters Inc., a company tasked with calibrating the state’s DataMaster machines. Three company employees were tasked with calibrating and servicing breathalyzer machines across Michigan.

DataMaster machines are used to determine a driver’s blood-alcohol level. While roadside breathalyzer tests are used to determine probable cause for a DUI arrest, the results are inadmissible in court.

Once suspects are booked during a DUI arrest, they’re administered a DataMaster breathalyzer test, the results of which are admissible for purposes of prosecution.

In a memo sent to county prosecutors across the state on Jan. 10, state police noted “performance-related issues” with the vendor.

“Review of vendor records in the last two days has yielded additional discrepancies that may point to the potential for a more widespread issue with the way in which some instruments were being serviced,” Gasper said Monday, Jan. 13. “While the discrepancies do not directly impact or deal with the results of evidential breath tests, it is concerning that it appears as though some certification records have been falsified.”

State police have opened a criminal investigation into the company and its employees,

“To be clear, a properly calibrated and maintained Datamaster DMT is an extremely reliable instrument, which is why issuing the stop order, placing the instruments temporarily out-of-service and assuming responsibility for maintaining all Datamasters in the state is an extreme move that places a burden on all of the state’s law enforcement resources, but it is an absolutely necessary move to safeguard the integrity of the criminal justice process,” Gasper said. “Upon learning of additional and more egregious discrepancies, I am no longer comfortable having police agencies using these instruments until we can be confident they are certified, calibrated and serviced according to state law and industry standard.”

unrevealed issues first arose with the vendor in August. State police notified the company there was in potential breach of contract and requested a corrective action plan.

“That same month, Intoximeters responded with a corrective action plan,” Gasper said. “When issues rose again shortly after that, the MSP again contacted Intoximeters and we have been working with them to remedy the issues.”

MLive has requested comment and is awaiting response Intoximeters.

Michigan State Police announcement:

-- Gus Burns is the marijuana beat reporter for MLive. Contact him with questions, tips or comments at fburns@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, @GusBurns. Read more from MLive about medical and recreational marijuana.

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