31 arrested during "no refusal"

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Austin Police Department is patrolling for drunk drivers this holiday weekend.

The department has a special DWI enforcement team that patrols city wide looking for intoxicated drivers. Officer Rob Gilbert is a three-year veteran of the team and typically focuses on the Downtown area.

"There is a lot of alcohol in this town," he said.

31 individuals were arrested for DWI's during the operation Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Blood search warrants were required for 11 of the arrests. Also, one mandatory blood draw was issued due to a felony status.

Police say that 18 people were given a breathalyzer, 1 person consented to the blood draw.

The "no refusal" initiative throughout the 2009 Labor Day Weekend resulted in 26 DWI arrests. Nine of those individuals refused and a search warrant was issued.

The DWI enforcement team is designed to cut down on the number of drunk drivers in Austin. Two teams of seven officers patrol from 7:30 pm. to 5:30 am., but some of those officers wish they could do more.

The DWI team is now staffing the B.A.T bus parked at Riverside and South Congress, which was once staffed by civilians. The B.A.T bus is a mobile processing center where DWI suspects are taken for a breathalyzer test if they consent. From there, they are transported to jail.

The Labor Day holiday weekend is a no refusal weekend for APD, which means police can automatically get a search warrant to draw a drivers blood if they suspect you've been drinking and driving, even if you refuse a breath test.