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GLENS FALLS---A veteran Glens Falls police officer got a first hand education about breathalyzers and how long alcohol stays in one's system.
Officer Jay Wells has been suspended without pay after he was found to be legally intoxicated while on duty.
Wells was found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.11 percent at the start of his A-line shift from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. when one of his first tasks was to recertify the police station's breathalyzer machine.
The state's legal limit for intoxication is 0.08 percent.
Wells was trying to calibrate the machine. A breath sample of a person presumably not under the influence of alcohol is needed for a base reading but when Wells blew into the machine, he registered .11, legally intoxicated.
Officials declined to say if Wells drove to work. When his breath test was discovered, he was immediately removed from duty, suspended and driven home. Officials said he had not driven a patrol car while he was on duty.
PBA officials said that Wells had not consumed alcohol immediately before his shift but had been drinking earlier in the day.
In is unknown how long the suspension will last. Wells is a 19-year police officer, serving 15 years with Glens Falls PD.
In 2003, Brett Flaherty, a sergeant with the Warren County Sheriff's Department, was demoted to patrol officer after he was allegedly found to be legally intoxicated upon arriving for work, also on the A-line shift. 10-01-06
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© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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