ST. PAUL (KFGO-WCCO) — Over 160 additional DWI cases may have been impacted by errors in testing equipment, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Friday, bringing the total number to at least 447.
According to the BCA, 161 cases in Blue Earth County, six with the Sauk Center Police Department and three with the Chisholm Police Department may be impacted. Officials said earlier this month that 277 cases were possibly impacted after it discovered errors while installing gas cylinders in DataMaster instruments, which are breath testing machines.
When a machine is first set up, law enforcement officers enter information from the cylinder into the system, according to the BCA. That information is then used for all tests until the cylinder is replaced, at which point information from the new cylinder must be entered. Officials discovered that incorrect information from the cylinder had been entered into machines.
The BCA said it will be updating maintenance procedures on the machines moving forward in an effort to prevent future errors.
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