ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has mathematically verified that the identified evidentiary breath test results involving the DataMaster (DMT) instrument used in DWI testing are accurate.

The issue centered on a limited number of cases where DMT instrument operators entered incorrect alcohol concentration values from replacement dry gas cylinders, calling into question whether the control tests following the cylinder replacement were valid.

In September, the BCA became aware of data entry errors by authorized users related to the installation of dry gas cylinders in several DMT instruments across the state. These errors raised questions about the validity of evidentiary breath test results in several hundred cases. The BCA took immediate steps to prevent further issues and to protect the integrity of future test results. At the same time, BCA laboratory scientists began the process to review each instance to determine whether the accuracy could be verified through other means.

BCA lab scientists conducted a mathematical recalculation of all identified tests using the correct alcohol concentration of the installed cylinder, determining the control tests were successful and within established margins despite the data entry error. BCA lab scientists will testify that this mathematically demonstrates the control tests were valid, and therefore, all subsequent breath tests in question after that control change are accurate. Notifications of this development will be made today to police agencies and prosecuting attorneys with cases affected by this issue.          

Moving forward, the BCA has halted all dry gas cylinder replacements by law enforcement personnel using DMT instruments. Only BCA personnel will be authorized to perform these replacements. BCA staff has begun securing access to the dry gas cylinder compartments on all DMT instruments — verifying the proper installation and restricting access to the dry gas cylinder compartment. To date, over 50 percent of DMT instruments have been verified and secured, with full completion expected within the next few weeks. The DMT operator training has been updated to reflect these changes with continued monitoring to ensure only BCA personnel are conducting future dry gas cylinder replacements.

Any future updates regarding this topic will be posted on the BCA website.