SFST – Session 6 – Phase Two: Personal Contact Session 6-Phase Two: Personal Contact DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing

Participant Manual SFST – Session 6 – Phase Two: Personal Contact

Session 6-Phase Two: Personal Contact

DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing

Session 6

Phase Two:

Personal Contact

1 Hour 30 Minutes

Session 6-Phase Two: Personal Contact

DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing

• Identify typical clues of Detection Phase

Two

• Describe observed clues clearly and

convincingly

Learning Objectives

6-2

Upon successfully completing this session the participant will be able to:

• Identify typical clues of Detection Phase Two.

• Describe the observed clues clearly and convincingly.

CONTENT SEGMENTS LEARNING ACTIVITIES

A. Overview: Tasks and Decision Instructor Led Presentations

B. Typical Investigation Clues of the Video Presentation

Driver Interview

C. Recognition and Description of Instructor Led Demonstrations

Investigation Clues

D. Interview/Questioning Techniques Participant Presentations

E. Recognition and Description of Clues

Associated with the Exit Sequence

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Session 6-Phase Two: Personal Contact

DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing

Phase Two: Personal Contact

Interview and

Observation

of the Driver

6-3

A. Overview Tasks and Decisions

DWI Detection Phase Two: Personal Contact, like Phases One and Three, comprise

two major evidence gathering tasks and one major decision. Your first task is to

approach, observe, and interview the driver while they are still in the vehicle to Note any

face to face evidence of impairment. During this face to face contact you may administer

some simple pre-exit sobriety tests to gain additional information to evaluate whether or

not the driver is impaired. After this evaluation, you must decide whether to request the

driver to exit the vehicle for further field sobriety testing. In some jurisdictions,

departmental policy may dictate that all drivers stopped on suspicion of DWI be

instructed to exit. It is important to Note that by instructing the driver to exit the vehicle,

you are not committed to an arrest; this is simply another step in the DWI detection

process. Once you have requested the driver to exit the vehicle, your second task is to

observe the manner in which the driver exits and to Note any additional evidence of

impairment.

You may initiate Phase Two without Phase One. This may occur, for example, at a

checkpoint, or when you have responded to the scene of a crash.

Notes:_______________________________________________

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Session 6-Phase Two: Personal Contact

DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing

Phase Two: Personal Contact

Interview and

Observation

of the Driver

6-4

Task One

The first task of Phase Two, interview and observation of the driver, begins as soon as

the driver vehicle and the patrol vehicle have come to complete stops. It continues

through your approach to the driver vehicle and involves all conversation between you

and the driver prior to the driver's exit from the vehicle.

You may have developed a strong suspicion that the driver is impaired prior to the face

to face observation and interview. You may have developed this suspicion by observing

something unusual while the vehicle was in motion, or during the stopping sequence.

You may have developed no suspicion of DWI prior to the face to face contact. The

vehicle operation and the stop may have been normal; you may have seen no actions

suggesting DWI.

For example, you may have stopped the vehicle for an equipment/registration violation,

or where no unusual driving was evident. In some cases, Phase One will have been

absent. For example, you may first encounter the driver and vehicle after a crash or

when responding to a request for motorist assistance.

Regardless of the evidence that may have come to light during Detection Phase One,

your initial face to face contact with the driver usually provides the first definite

indications that the driver is impaired.

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Session 6-Phase Two: Personal Contact

DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing

Phase Two: Personal Contact

Interview and

Observation

of the Driver

Should

Driver

Exit? ?

6-5

Decision

Based upon your face to face interview and observation of the driver, and upon your

previous observations of the vehicle in motion and the stopping sequence, you must

decide whether there is sufficient reason to instruct the driver to step from the vehicle.

For some law enforcement officers, this decision is automatic since their agency’s policy

dictates that the driver always be told to exit the vehicle, regardless of the cause for the

stop. Other agencies; however, treat this as a discretionary decision to be based on

what the officer sees, hears, and smells during observation and interview with the driver

while the driver is seated in the vehicle.

If you decide to instruct the driver to exit, closely observe the driver's actions during the

exit from the vehicle and Note any evidence of impairment.

Session 6-Phase Two: Personal Contact

DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing

Phase Two: Personal Contact

Interview and

Observation

of the Driver

Observation of

the Exit

Should

Driver

Exit? ?

6-6

B. Typical Investigation Clues of the Driver Interview

Face to face observation and interview of the driver allows you to use three senses to

gather evidence of alcohol and/or other drug influence:

• The sense of sight

• The sense of hearing

• The sense of smell

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Source: DWI Detection and

Standardized Field

Sobriety Testing