Another north Texas police department is out for blood from drunk drivers.

As of Friday, DWI suspects in Burleson who refuse a breath test will have their blood taken by court order. Refusal is no longer an option.

Burleson is a rapidly growing city of about 30,000 people south of Fort Worth. It has 54 sworn officers. So far this year, they have handled 59 suspected DWI cases. 32 of the drivers refused to provide a breath sample.

Commander Chris Havens says officers will now arrest those who refuse, and then "Obtain a search warrant from a magistrate to take that blood."

Burleson police got a final briefing Friday from the Tarrant County DA's office on a precise series of steps to follow to make sure blood evidence holds up in court.

Prosecutor Richard Alpert emphasized the first basic element.

"You’ve got to have them under arrest. That's step one for admission of mandatory blood."

The tiny town of Dalworthington Gardens was the first to require blood from all DWI suspects.

The move led to a string of guilty pleas, getting drunks off the roads and saving taxpayers money on court costs and police overtime.

Alpert told officers the practice has been upheld repeatedly by Texas courts, “So don't make any mistake about it. It is legal. It is admissible and it is being done all over this state all the time now."

Watauga Police also attended the briefing to explore the idea of using search warrants for blood.

Fort Worth and Arlington police have declared special “no refusal” weekends in which they sought warrants for blood from suspects who refuse a breath test.

Alpert wants all departments to be more aggressive taking blood, which he calls “bulletproof” evidence.

Burleson already required blood from repeat DWI offenders or those involved in a crash. Now all DWI suspects who won’t give a breath sample will have no choice but to give a blood sample.

E-mail jdouglas@wfaa.com