Media Release: Data Master Terminal (DMT)

ROCHESTER, Minn. - The Olmsted County Sheriff's Office (OCSO) houses a Data Master Terminal (DMT) that serves our office, the Rochester Police Department (RPD), and the Minnesota State Patrol (MSP). The DMT is used as one step in a process to determine whether an individual is under the influence of alcohol or over the legal limit to drive in the state of Minnesota. The DMT is provided by the State of Minnesota through the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).

Our office learned of other law enforcement agencies in MN identified as having issues with their DMT. On Tuesday, October 7th, our office began proactively making inquiries by contacting all the above partners and the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to see if there was or is a local impact. During our initial inquiry, no issues were identified.

On Friday, October 10, at approximately 4 p.m., OCSO was contacted by the BCA regarding an issue involving the DMT and a dry gas cylinder. OCSO and our partners immediately took action, fully cooperated with the BCA, and stopped using the DMT.

OCSO has continued working with the BCA to ensure proper functionality of the DMT. We have taken proactive measures and the DMT is operational and in compliance with BCA guidance. Additionally, we have conducted a comprehensive review of internal processes to ensure that the systems are working as intended.

The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office and Rochester Police Department are coordinating with the Rochester City Attorney’s Office and Olmsted County Attorney’s Office regarding this matter. We remain committed to ensuring the safety of all motorists within our community and will continue impaired driving enforcement.

It is too soon to say how this will affect cases in court, and the public should not assume that charges will be dismissed.

Any further inquiries into the situation can be directed to the BCA.