ProPublica report says Hispanic drivers in NY may have been convicted of DWI on tainted evidence for years

• ProPublica report shows police discriminated against Hispanic drivers.
• Police in Westchester, NY pressured them into taking Breathalyzer tests.
• Years of drunk driving convictions were based on tainted evidence.

WESTCHESTER, NY POLICE DISCRIMINATE AGAINST HISPANIC DRIVERS! Once again, the New York police find themselves in the eye of the hurricane after a report came out showing that Hispanic drivers may have been convicted of DWI based on tainted evidence.

A new ProPublica report revealed that several police officers misled investigators with tainted evidence, based on mistranslated DWI warnings that led to wrongful convictions. The cases are now being reviewed.

SPANISH SPEAKING DRIVERS WERE MISLED BY POLICE

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Police in Westchester, one of New York’s largest counties, have been contaminating evidence in in drunk driving cases. Although there had been several complaints, the Westchester District Attorney’s Office did not investigate the situation.

It was revealed that the authorities deceived Hispanic drivers with warnings that were poorly translated into Spanish, leading them to believe refusing a chemical alcohol test was admitting guilt.

How long has this been going on?

According to ProPublica, defense attorneys began complaining in 2014, and continued through 2018, about instructions given to Spanish speaking drivers about their rights regarding blood alcohol tests.

“From at least 2014 to 2018, records show, New York State Police troopers gave some drivers mistranslated instructions about what it means to refuse a blood alcohol test,” ProPublica stated.

Were Spanish speaking drivers pressured?

After the records were reviewed, various defense attorneys reported that it appears that the police pressured Hispanic drivers to submit to breathalyzer tests that they could have refused.

The report stated that this mistranslation could «(…) confuse or mislead drivers and may have pressured some into a decision that resulted in severe consequences.» The situation has escalated in recent years.

Lawyers say some were unfairly convicted

Lawyers have said that some people were unjustly convicted every case during the time period of the complaints should be reviewed. Police spokesperson Beau Duffy pointed out that the mistranslated test is not an official document and was only used in Westchester County.

“These are folks that are wrongfully convicted,” stated Joseph Margulies, professor of law and government at Cornell University, according to ProPublica. Currently, defense lawyers are pressing for an investigation revealed that the Prosecutor’s office, led by Miriam Rocah since 2020, should have been investigating.