Columbus police recruits learn field sobriety tests ahead of New Year’s Eve

COLUMBUS, Ohio — New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are two of the worst days for people getting behind the wheel after they’ve been drinking.

Law enforcement will have extra patrols out those days making sure everyone stays safe on the roads.

Recruits with the Columbus Division of Police this week learned how to conduct field sobriety tests to spot impaired drivers.

What looks like any other party is actually a controlled party inside the Columbus Police Academy.

“These impaired people are volunteers that we take from pretty much all over. We have to make sure they don’t have any prior felonies,” said Columbus Police Sergeant Adam Barton.

They volunteer their time, are driven to and from the academy and are closely monitored to be test subjects for recruits to learn from.

“We have to dose them at a certain level. We have to monitor how much they drink because we don’t want someone not being drunk enough out there because there are certain indicators they are looking for that we want to make sure the students see,” Barton said.

Once they are ready, instructors show recruits how to conduct a standardized field sobriety test. A test they know has to be conducted perfectly.

“They are highly contested in court. We have defense attorneys out there, who that what they make their living on. They will pick every detail. If it’s not within what that manual says, that strict compliance, your case can be in jeopardy,” Barton said.

While it may be fun for the participants, Barton says the stats are a sobering reminder of how serious this skill really is.

“Over Thanksgiving weekend, we had five fatalities over that weekend. Let’s not repeat that new year weekend,” Barton said.

If all of those recruits pass their tests, they will graduate in January.

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