title: Effect of simulated resistance, fleeing, and use of force on standardized field sobriety testing.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  When a law enforcement officer (LEO) stops a suspect believed to be operating (a vehicle) while impaired (OWI), the suspect may resist or flee, and the LEO may respond with force. The suspect may then undergo a Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) to gauge impairment. It is not known whether resistance, fleeing, or actions of force can create an inaccurate SFST result. We examined the effect of resistance, fleeing, and force on the SFST.
  
  
  METHODS
  Human volunteers were prospectively randomized to have a SFST before and after one of five scenarios: (1) five-second conducted electrical weapon exposure; (2) 100-yard (91.4 m) sprint; (3) 45-second physical fight; (4) police dog bite with protective gear; and (5) Oleoresin Capsicum spray to the face with eyes shielded. The SFST was administered and graded by a qualified LEO. After the SFST, the volunteer entered their scenario and was then administered another SFST. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. SFST performance was compared before and after using chi-square tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-seven subjects enrolled. Three received a single-point penalty during one component of the three-component SFST pre-scenario. No subject received a penalty point in any components of the SFST post-scenario (p = 0.08).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first human study to examine the effects of physical resistance, flight, and use of force on the SFST result. We did not detect a difference in the performance of subjects taking the SFST before and after exposure to resistance, flight, or a simulated use of force.
authors.affiliation: Hennepin County Medical Center, Minnesota, USA Meeker County Sheriff's Office, Minnesota, USA hoxxx010@umn.edu.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Lompoc Valley Medical Center, California, USA Santa Barbara Police Department, California, USA.
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dawes
authors.affiliation: Hennepin County Medical Center, Minnesota, USA Meeker County Sheriff's Office, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nystrom
authors.affiliation: Hennepin County Medical Center, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Hennepin County Medical Center, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Lila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.affiliation: Hennepin County Medical Center, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Annemarie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tilton
authors.affiliation: Hennepin County Medical Center, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001733:Bites and Stings; D002212:Capsicum; D057667:Conducted Energy Weapon Injuries; D004285:Dogs; D000066448:Driving Under the Influence / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004924:Escape Reaction; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016495:Police; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011897:Random Allocation; D012420:Running; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection; D014754:Violence; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: CEW; Standardized Field Sobriety Test; TASER; neurocognition; psychomotor; use of force