February 24, 2023

Navajo Police Department receives training on breath alcohol instrument, Intoxilyzer 8000

FARMINGTON, N.M. – During the week of February 20th, Navajo Police Department officers were trained on the use of a breath alcohol instrument called an Intoxilyzer 8000, to assist in DUI criminal police investigations. Twenty-one NPD police officers from the Crownpoint District and Shiprock District were trained by Farmington Police Department Sgt. R. Graff on the use of the Intoxilyzer 8000, which uses infrared spectroscopy to determine the breath alcohol content of suspected DUI offenders. The course was broken into several parts with a written exam and practical use of the Intoxilyzer 8000. Graff also instructed officers on how to properly use blood draw kits and submit them for analysis. This course allows an officer to supplement their field observations of a suspected DUI offender and determines the breath alcohol content of the suspected offender, which is documented and recorded in a police report. A Navajo Nation prosecutor uses this information to move forward with a DUI charge before the Navajo Nation Courts. The Navajo Nation has an implied consent law, meaning any person driving a vehicle on the Navajo Nation is deemed to have given consent to a chemical test to determine their alcohol or drug content (14 N.N.C. § 714. A). The Navajo Police Department plans to continue training officers in DUI-related investigations with a series of upcoming classes in standardized field sobriety testing offered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NPD certifies with this course every two years.

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