A federal judge has upheld a rule requiring New York City police officers to take an immediate Breathalyzer test when they fire their weapons and cause injury or death. The NYPD instituted Interim Order 52 in the wake of the fatal 2006 shooting of Sean Bell. One of the officers who fired more than 50 shots at Bell and two companions acknowledged that he had been drinking before the incident.
Three police unions argued the order violates the Fourth Amendment because it is an intrusion on officers’ right to privacy and is meant to gather evidence for possible criminal proceedings. Furthermore, they said, the rule is unconstitutionally vague. The city countered that the rule is valid because of the special needs doctrine, which carves out exceptions to the amendment’s bar on suspicionless searches.
