RFI on Intoxilyzer 8000 in Florida

Can Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) inflate the breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) reading on the Intoxilyzer 8000 breathalyzer used in Florida?

Any type of radio transmitter, including police radios and cellular phone, emit radio waves.

The Intoxilyzer 8000, put into evidentiary use in Florida more than 16 years ago, was designed to be protected from radio waves because of its metal cover and shielding around power supplies and to terminate a test in progress if it detects a certain threshold of RFI.

The Intoxilyzer 8000 was developed before cell phones and body cameras were used. So what happens when the officer and suspect walk into the breath testing room with a smartphone, lab top computer, police radio, body camera, and an Apple watch?

CMI, the manufacturer of the Intoxilyzer 8000, paid for a study of Radiated Radio Frequency Susceptibility in 1983.

The participants in the study measured readings from the Intoxilyzer under different RFI conditions with different distances and field strengths to determine whether the machines were properly functioning. But the study was completely inadequate and shockingly unscientific.

Click here to read more about our Recent Case Results in DUI Intoxilyzer 8000 Cases.

Attorney for RFI Problems on the Intoxilyzer 8000 in Florida

The DUI attorneys in Tampa, Florida, with the Sammis Law Firm, are interested in issues that impact the accuracy and reliability of the Intoxilyzer 8000 used in Florida.

Read more about how we fight to protect our clients charged with a high Breath Alcohol Concentration (BAC) reading in Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL.

Contact us for a free consultation to discuss your case. We can help you understand how problems with the Intoxilyzer 8000 and the alcohol testing procedures used in your case might have impacted the results.

Call 813-250-0500 today.

Changes in Technology Impacting the Old Intoxilyzer 8000

The Intoxilyzer 8000 was developed in 1999. By 2002, the machine was placed on the conforming projects list. It has remained the same since then. The technology used in the Intoxilyzer 8000 is so old that it communicates through a dial-up modem.

When the Intoxilyzer 8000 was developed, the RFI error or exception message triggers could only be programmed based on the existing technology.

This means that when the Intoxilyzer 8000 RFI module was invented, we were using 3G technology. We didn’t move to 4G until 2009. Ten years later, 5G is being used.

To understand how things have changed, compare the technology in the first Bluetooth phone released in 2001 with the most recently released iPhone.

Can Cell Phones Be Used to Manipulate the Intoxilyzer 8000 Inspections?

At least one Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) employee, Margaret “Maggie” Geddings, was caught using a cell phone to manipulate the Intoxilyzer 8000 during the departmental inspections intentionally.

By holding a cell phone or police radio up to the Intoxilyzer 8000, Maggie Geddings effectively hid evidence that the Intoxilyzer 8000 could not pass a monthly inspection.

Assistant State Attorney Adrienne Emerson and Investigator Renee Pelotte from the State Attorney’s Office took this sworn statement from Maggie Geddings, former FDLE Departmental Inspector, explaining this technique.

This sworn statement was provided as exculpatory Brady material to criminal defense attorneys in Okaloosa County. Amazingly, a prosecutor insisted on getting a sworn statement from an FDLE Departmental Inspector to document exactly how the inspections are being falsified.

Department Inspector Maggie Geddings also trained many Agency Inspectors working throughout Florida and was accused of teaching them how to use a cell phone to terminate a failing inspection prematurely.

The Maggie Geddings technique calls into question the integrity of Florida’s alcohol testing program because if FDLE inspectors teach agency inspectors how to hide evidence, then no reading from the Intoxilyzer 8000 should be trusted.