Grant equips police with breath testers

NEBRASKA CITY – Nebraska City police are being equipped with hand-held breath testing units through a Highway Safety Office grant.

The Nebraska Department of Transportation has awarded the police department six breath testing units as a cost of $295 each.

William Kovarik of the NDOT Highway Safety Office said the units display a digital reading of the blood alcohol level from a suspect’s breath sample.

Kovarik: “The departments receiving this grant are all part of a statewide initiative to decrease the number of roadway crashes, fatalities and injuries.”

The field sobriety testing units are used to establish probable cause that a driver is impaired.

Kovarik: “This is a quick test that can be performed in the field at the beginning of each investigation. In every state in this country, drunk driving is illegal. It’s also incredibly deadly, and a risk we don’t want to see people take.”