New toxicologist takes reins at State Patrol lab

A scientist who has already helped revive one troubled toxicology lab is now the state toxicologist in Washington, where criticism about lab errors and ethical problems has clouded drunken-driving cases.

Fiona Couper, who led efforts to rebuild Washington, D.C.'s toxicology lab after it had been shut down, began this week as the state's first new toxicologist in nearly two decades.

She has reviewed the problems that have turned up in the State Patrol lab and said one of her first goals is "to put in place the processes for detecting human error and making sure it doesn't happen again."

"This is a great laboratory. The people are competent," said Couper, 37. "There is a great foundation in the lab here already, so I'm not starting from scratch."

State Patrol Chief John Batiste said Couper is an accomplished scientist and leader. He believes she will help win back the confidence of judges -- particularly in King County -- so breath tests can be used as evidence again.

"She comes to us with great credentials," Batiste said. "I'm very excited about the direction we're moving."

Couper replaces Barry Logan, who had held the position since 1990.

She earned her doctorate in Australia but is already familiar with Washington's lab.

She studied drug-impaired driving and date-rape drugs as a senior fellow there between 1998 and 2001.

Couper was then hired to resurrect the toxicology lab in Washington, D.C., where a lack of funding and other problems had closed it in 1996.

The D.C. lab is part of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, whose spokeswoman Beverly Fields called Couper "a great employee."

Washington state's toxicology lab plays more of a role in breath tests than in Washington, D.C., though in both places, problems with using them as evidence against suspected drunken drivers have emerged.

For years, police in Washington, D.C., have certified breath-test results with forms saying their machine was "approved by the Chief Toxicologist" and tests were done "in accordance with operational procedures set forth by the Chief Medical Examiner."

Neither claim is true. The toxicology lab there is not involved in how breath-test machines are calibrated or used, and DUI charges have been dismissed because of the faulty form, said Bryan Brown, a DUI attorney in Washington, D.C.

Brown credits Couper, then the chief toxicologist, for being "very upfront that she didn't do the testing," but he said he believes her lab should have done more to get police to correct their forms.

Couper said the form "hadn't been updated, and it should have," so she sent memos to police departments clarifying that the proper use of the machines was up to them.

She said she believed the forms had been fixed, though documents provided by Brown show Washington, D.C.'s largest force was still using them at least as recently as a few months ago.