MISHAWAKA — A late-night traffic accident has left a Niles man alleging that Mishawaka police are lax in their enforcement of drunken-driving laws.

The Mishawaka Police Department is responding by asking that doubters check its operating while intoxicated arrest record.

The incident in question started at 12:30 a.m. Feb. 25, when a driver crashed into the parked car of Jason Ward in front of Lan Lizards, 121 Lincoln Way West.

Ward, who works at Lan Lizards, said the man who crashed into his vehicle admitted to having been out drinking alcohol and was worried about being arrested.

Police were also aware that the man had been drinking — even citing the information in the accident report.

But Ward is upset no Breathalyzer test was administered to the man, and he doesn’t understand the police’s reluctance to perform the test.

“The guy hit a parked car with no other cars around,” Ward said. “That doesn’t just happen.”

However, Mishawaka Police Capt. Tim Spencer said that an accident — even when the driver admits he has been drinking — doesn’t automatically require the driver be tested.

“Case law requires us to have probable cause before we can do the breath test,” Spencer said.

Probable cause, Spencer said, would include slurred speech or poor coordination — attributes the driver didn’t possess.

Spencer said it’s common for the department’s officers to stop vehicles in which the driver admits to having had a drink or two, and a Breathalyzer test is not given.

“An admission to drinking is not the same as being intoxicated,” Spencer said. “The allegation that the Mishawaka Police Department is not doing our job — we could stack our OWI arrest record up against anyone’s in the state.”

In 2007, the Mishawaka Police Department made 217 drunken-driving arrests. That same year the St. Joseph County DUI task force, which includes the Mishawaka, South Bend, St. Joseph County, Notre Dame and Walkerton police, made a total of 494 arrests.

Spokesmen for the South Bend Police Department and the Indiana State Police both said their agencies have the same policy for administering Breathalyzer tests.

“There are circumstances where you might have a more clearly defined policy, such as personal injury versus property damage,” said Capt. Phil Trent, South Bend Police public information officer. “But if you go to the scene of a crash and somebody is not impaired, it is at the officer’s discretion.”

Ward, however, is still upset by the incident and has continued to press the police department for a response — his father has already filed complaints with the police department and the mayor.

With his car totaled and with the other driver being uninsured, Ward is unsure how to proceed.

“I wouldn’t even care that much if they had given him a Breathalyzer and he had passed,” Ward said. “But they never did, so we don’t know.”