October 13, 2010

What happens when your blood alcohol level is .15?

Let's see if we can translate the .15 blood alcohol level that a still-unseen toxicology report apparently showed that former Officer Robert Mosback had in his bloodstream following his June 26 on-duty accident into something more real than a number.
Here's how the University of Oklahoma Police Department describes it:
0.13 — 0.15 BAC: Gross motor impairment and lack of physical control. Blurred vision and major loss of balance. Euphoria is reduced and dysphoria* is beginning to appear. Judgment and perception are severely impaired.( * —Dysphoria: An emotional state of anxiety, depression, or unease.)
In the Know Zone describes it this way:

6. BAC = .12-.15 = Vomiting usually occurs, unless this level is reached slowly or a person has developed a tolerance to alcohol. Drinkers are drowsy.
Drinkers display emotional instability, loss of critical judgment, impairment of perception, memory, and comprehension.
Lack of sensor-motor coordination and impaired balance are typical. Decreased sensory responses and increased reaction times develop. The vision is significantly impaired, including limited ability to see detail, peripheral vision, and slower glare recovery.
7. BAC = .15 = This blood-alcohol level means the equivalent of 1/2 pint of whiskey is circulating in the blood stream.

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

We have no idea how Mosback behaved at the time of the incident - that is allegedly due to the BPDs failure to accurately report the incident. He may be a habitual drunk who can hide his level of intoxication. You also can't assume that he was only drunk - maybe there was something else going on that would suppress the depressive effect of alcohol - i.e, he took a stimulant like caffeine, etc. Who knows? I'm not a doctor or toxicologist, and neither are you! This speculation is pointless!

Ben said...

Thanks Steve,
I am sure certain people are upset at you. They should think of this, if they had come clean the night of the accident or even a week later, this whole mess would be over.
The question is no longer about an intoxicated officer but how did trained professionals completely miss it?
At .15 you can barely walk, let alone function.

Anonymous said...

How long after the last drink does this condition occur?
Does it get worse i.e would it have not been noticeable at roll call?

Steve, keep digging!

Anonymous said...

Enough Steve

good_old_tom said...

This BAC stuff is all witchcraft. Tom-foolery and douche-baggery I say!

Anonymous said...

Unbelievable!

Didn't any of his brothers in blue detect these outwardly visible signs? If not, how can they be qualified as police officers?

How many civilians have been pulled over, handcuffed, and hauled off to jail for DUI with a lower BAC?

This is outrageous!

Does anyone know what Mayor Ward's BAC was when he got arrested for DUI? Higher? Lower?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Anonymous said...

"...unless...a person has developed a tolerance to alcohol."

Anonymous said...

“i.e., he took a stimulant like caffeine," really coffee counteracts alcohol? I believe i saw a police video saying that doesn’t work. Maybe a more powerful stimulant. Now to his coworkers if they could detect alcohol on the officer then they have no business detecting it on no police. And to Steve keep reporting maybe the people of Bristol will finally police the police and politicians for that matter.

Anonymous said...

IN Bristol anything goes. ITS a SHAME but its The truth. City employes have no guide lines.

Anonymous said...

a good cake donut (or 12) might sop up a lot of alcohol

just a thought

homer

Anonymous said...

This is just outrageous!!! WHEN IS HE GOING TO BE CHARGED??? If it was anyone of us we would have been booked ASAP! How and where can we send letters to voice our concerns of how unfair this is? I know more than one person -not involved in a high speed accident that have been arrested for DUI under .15 by Bristol PD..CHARGE HIM NOW!!!!!!!!! What is the delay? It is clearly not fair at all...I have lost all respect for this city and especially for the whole PD!

Anonymous said...

hey folks, interesting factoid here:
some years ago, there was a Bristol Press reporter, (Schmidt maybe), who did Steve's job. He crashed his car. In his car was found many empty vodka bottles. His blood alcohol content was more than twice Mosback's.

How you say, was this reporter able to come to work, fool all of his co workers, and even function at a level that would have most of us in a coma near death?? Because his body built up a tolerance, so at say a, .15bac, he was able to come to work and walk and talk normally.

Now, gargle, brush your teeth, wear some cologne and drop in some eye drops and nobody knows.

Why don't you dig up that story Steve and get off your holy crusade to prove there was a cover up for a few minutes

Anonymous said...

I don't claim any academic or professional expertise. On the other hand I wasn't born yesterday and know something about people and about drunks.

Given his extreme state of intoxication, I doubt that it was the first time Officer Mosback was drunk at work. If the Bristol PD is willing to tolerate his obvious level of impairment, what else is tolerated and covered up. Every few months others problems bubble up. The Bristol PD needs to be cleaned up and it needs to start at the top.

Steve Collins said...

6:50 -- Yes, long ago we did have a police reporter who was a chronic drunk. He reeked of alcohol all the time, but claimed he used to be a drinker and the smell had sort of permeated his body forever. The only person who believed that was the editor who hired him. It is true, though, that his normal blood alcohol level would have put me in a coma for sure. As it is, after his on-duty crash, where vodka bottles came spilling out of his car, we all remembered him for a long time with the phrase ".5 and still alive."
It's not true, however, that he could walk and talk normally and that nobody would have suspected. The truth is that we all knew he was a dangerous drunk except for the one guy who could have done something about it. I'm sure the police, too, were keeping an eye on him because they were aware of it as well.
Thank God he didn't kill anyone.
I'm sorry if this story is coming across to anyone as holier-than-thou. I certainly don't feel that way.
I just want to know what happened on this case. And for what it's worth, I'm not at all sure that a cover up occurred. I just don't have the information I need to tell the whole tale yet.

dereliction of duty said...

Obviously the officers on the scene are guilty of dereliction of their duty. I believe that if there was any sign of a cover up all superior officers in charge should be disciplined as well as the ones on the scene. Perhaps they all should be terminated.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but officers have been fired for less.

no spine said...

4:15 - why don't you develop some bal-s and ask him?

Anonymous said...

thanks for your honesty in that reply Steve. Schmidt, if i'm remembering correctly, if he was ever low enough to be a .15, would have probably been able to walk and talk normal. And that was my point of bringing that up.

Anonymous said...

Can some of you be so naive to think the officer's who responded weren't aware. Come on......

The first rule of fight club - You don't talk about fight club.

Anonymous said...

Is there an order of protocol that is followed in Bristol when a Bristol Police Officer is involved in a serious accident while on duty driving a Bristol Police car? Such as do the responding officers call the Police Chief, does he in turn call the Mayor to let him know? Just wondering.

Anonymous said...

Enough already. We all know the cop was drunk and that his fellow officers tried to protect him. I think it's awful they were put in that position. Mosback should be let go, and the other officers should be counseled on how to handle this situation in the future. Done.

Anonymous said...

It's hard to take this blog seriously when entries such as the one copied below are allowed.

"a good cake donut (or 12) might sop up a lot of alcohol

just a thought

homer"

This obviously isn't the only juvenile type remark found throughout this blog, but just an example. I'm just not sure what these types of remarks add to the discussion. It makes me wonder how accurate any of the information contained in this blog is.

Anonymous said...

@ no spine

Learned a long time ago, talking with liars only leads to frustration and confusion, so I avoid them completely. And it has nothing to do with fear.

spineless said...

1:09pm - and what a splendid example you serve as in your secretive "holier than thou" role as a feigned "anonymous ass."

lame at best said...

1:09 - I guess a weak excuse will suffice over no excuse.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Ass? Spineless? Lame at best?

Maybe you boys don't possess the intelligence to recognize this, but when you make up fictitious names you're just as anonymous as anyone who "identifies" him or herself as anonymous. Think about it.

Why don't you small-minded bullies grow up.

Have a nice day, officers! LOL!

Anonymous said...

@12:34 PM

You're not as smart as you think you are. Unless of course, you are a computer genius who can obtain a blogger's IP address at will, then hack into the ISP's database and skim the subscriber's information. I'm just sayin'...

Anonymous said...

Arguing on the internet is like running in the Special Olympics, win or lose, at the end of the race you're still retarded.... That's what this blog debate has turned into.