The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has mathematically verified that 276 DWI breath tests flagged after data-entry errors are accurate. BCA lab scientists recalculated each affected test using the correct dry gas cylinder alcohol concentrations and found control checks remained within accepted margins. The agency will notify affected police departments and prosecutors and has restricted cylinder replacements so only BCA staff can perform them.
Minnesota BCA Confirms 276 DWI Breath Tests Were Accurate Despite Data-Entry Errors
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has mathematically verified that 276 DWI breath tests flagged after data-entry errors are accurate. BCA lab scientists recalculated each affected test using the correct dry gas cylinder alcohol concentrations and found control checks remained within accepted margins. The agency will notify affected police departments and prosecutors and has restricted cylinder replacements so only BCA staff can perform them.
12:59, 02.11.2025Society
Minnesota BCA Verifies Breath-Test Accuracy After Data Entry Mistakes
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) says 276 DWI breath tests that were initially flagged because of data-entry errors have been mathematically verified as accurate.
The issue arose after investigators discovered multiple data-entry mistakes related to the installation of dry gas cylinders into DataMaster (DMT) breath-testing devices. Those cylinders carry unique identifiers and a known alcohol concentration used as a control when technicians administer breath tests.
According to the BCA, some DMT operators entered incorrect alcohol concentration values for replacement dry gas cylinders, which raised concerns that affected breath-test readings might have been incorrect and, in some cases, could have pushed results above the legal limit.
BCA statement: “BCA lab scientists conducted a mathematical recalculation of all identified tests using the correct alcohol concentration of the installed cylinder, determining the control tests were successful and within established margins despite the data entry error.”
The department says its lab specialists recalculated each affected evidentiary test using the proper cylinder concentration and determined that the control checks were valid. The BCA added that its lab scientists are prepared to testify that the recalculation demonstrates the subsequent breath-test results in question remain accurate.
The BCA will notify police agencies and prosecutors with potentially affected cases. As a precautionary policy change, the agency has suspended DMT dry gas cylinder replacements by law enforcement personnel; going forward, only authorized BCA employees may change those cylinders.
Source: Originally reported by Bring Me The News on Nov. 1, 2025.