Multimedia presentation by Rebecca Droke
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Yesterday afternoon eight men and women boldly chugged beers and drank hard alcohol for two hours as police stood by.

Some became quite animated. Others were silent. One by one they lined up to have their blood alcohol levels checked. After the eight people were certified as being legally intoxicated class began.

Six groups of officers from municipal and university police departments were learning how to properly conduct standardized field sobriety tests at the Pittsburgh Police Training Academy. The volunteer drunks added a note of realism as officers struggled to repeat memorized directions for tests with names like Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus.

The volunteer drinkers included civilians and off-duty police officers. None were allowed to drive before or after the class.

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