Kyle Brown KSTP

Published: October 11, 2025

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is ordering all law enforcement agencies across the state to inspect instruments used in DWI cases after data entry errors were discovered in at least five counties.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS was the first to report that 73 DWI test results were under review in Aitkin County due to a data entry error when installing a dry gas cylinder in a DataMaster DMT device. Similar problems were confirmed in Winona and Chippewa counties.

On Friday, the BCA was notified of more errors in Olmsted and Hennepin counties, affecting a combined 146 cases.

Now, the BCA is telling all agencies to halt the use of the DMT devices until they verify they are set up correctly.

“Recognizing the potential of human error with the existing exchange process, all gas cylinder replacements and maintenance moving forward will be conducted solely by BCA personnel, effective immediately,” the BCA said in a statement.

Each dry gas cylinder contains a known concentration of alcohol and is used as a control when measuring breath samples. Incorrectly entering the cylinder’s unique identifier could skew all measured results until the cylinder is replaced.

The BCA says it will update its training procedures for maintaining DMT instruments “to prevent future errors.”

In Winona County, Sheriff Ron Ganrude told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS earlier this week that it expects charges to be dismissed or convictions vacated in 39 DWI cases.

Defense attorney Chuck Ramsay said he asked the BCA for maintenance records for the DMT instrument while his firm was investigating two clients’ cases. One of his client’s cases in Aitkin County has since been dismissed.

“Have I ever seen anything like this in Minnesota before? And no, I have never seen a case where the state crime lab will come out and admit that a year’s worth of breath test on one device are no good,” Ramsay told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS last month. “I think that is rather significant.”