re: OT Police, why don’t go directly to the breathalyzer?

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Certainly your right, but in Texas we've streamlined the process for getting a blood draw warrant. We have an overnight magistrate to review/sign them 24/7.

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Wow

I don’t think I mind that. Although I’d like to see the limit bumped up a little bit from .08. Or maybe have tiered punishment and actually enforce it.

When I turned down the test at the precinct, nobody even mentioned a blood test. This was in 2009 or so.

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what happens when someone just politely explains that they don't want to participate in an investigation and that they now want to stop interacting with you?

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Depends. Does the officer have enough information at this point to believe the driver is under the influence of an intoxicating substance to the point of impairment? Slurred speech, unsteady balance, odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from their person? That with observing the driving violations suggesting impairment an officer can make a probable cause arrest and run the person on the intoxilizer. Locally we are a “no refusal” jurisdiction. A judge is available 25/7 to sign a search warrant for a blood draw in case they refuse the intoxilizer.

To add to that, refusing an intoxilizer test carries penalties such as suspension of drivers license. An officer warning a person that if they refuse a blood draw will still be done is considered coercion. So a person could get the refusal penalty for nothing because they still get their blood drawn