Tuesday, October 21, 2008

APD Blood Test

I read a commentary in the Austin American Statesman by John Kelso called "HMO, make that payable to APD." John Kelso has a regular commentary in the Statesman.com. I normally don’t agree with his point of view but as far as this commentary I do. His intended audience is the readers of the Statesman.com. The commentary is about Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo's program that involves drawing blood from suspected drunk drivers that refuse to take a breath test. Kelso believes that Austin police officers should not be allowed to draw blood. He believes that it is an invasion of people's personal lives. Police officers should not double as nurses. Police officers have enough responsibilities and I can’t imagine that they are too happy about having another potential weapon to deal with. There are many things that could go wrong. While drawing blood the police officer would be at risk of accidentally poking themselves with a contaminated needle. Police officers could have a difficult time dealing with someone that is intoxicated and might possibly have diseases. Kelso’s commentary sarcastically says that the police department might as well perform medical procedures and perform physicals. What he’s saying is these should not be the responsibilities of the police department. Kelso also points out that this might be the beginning of the invasion of privacy adding, “Now, I'm not in favor of driving while loaded. Then again, I'm not a big fan of this intrusion of privacy. What's next? Mandatory urine samples at highway rest stops? Still, isn't there some good that could come of this blood drive?”

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/10/21/1021kelso.html


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