– C. Todd Gilbert, who is one of the lawyers representing TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle, sent out the following statement yesterday regarding newspaper reports that Kurt failed a breathalyzer test.
Reported Angle Breath Test Inadmissible Under Virginia Law
~Field Test Not Calibrated and Inherently Flawed for Court Use~
Front Royal, Virginia— Attorney C. Todd Gilbert who represents Olympian and professional wrestler Kurt Angle issued the following statement today to clarify erroneous media reports about the evidence against Mr. Angle following his arrest Saturday night.
Mr. Gilbert stated, “A local newspaper reported today that my client’s percentage of blood alcohol at the scene of his arrest Saturday night was 091. What the media failed to report is that the handheld field test unit used for this test is so inherently unreliable and the protocols for its use so flawed that these results are inadmissible as evidence under Virginia law.
The results which will be admissible in court, and which vindicate my client, showed that his actual blood alcohol content was a .06, well below the legal limit of .08. The breath testing machine used to determine this accurate .06 level is one that passes the rigorous scientific standards set forth by the Virginia Department of Forensic Science. This testing unit is also subject to equally meticulous written protocols and pre-test calibrations for its use. One such protocol is a 20 minute waiting period to ensure that any residual alcohol present in the mouth will have evaporated prior to testing and will therefore not cause a false positive or a result that is higher that one’s actual blood alcohol content. The handheld breath testing unit used by state troopers in this case is merely a tool to assist police in determining probable cause, but its results are inexact which is why they are inadmissible in court. For example, no such 20 minute waiting period is performed by officers in the field prior to its use. As such, the report today is both incomplete and misleading.
Mr. Angle continues to look forward to having the scientifically valid results of his actual blood alcohol content presented in court in order to clear him of this charge.”
