Lawsuit Filed Against Police Claims Invasive Search that Violated Civil Rights
DPA: War on Drugs Shreds 4th Amendment and Devastates Police/ Community Relations
By Steve Elliott
Hemp News
A Deming, New Mexico man was subjected to a nightmarish 14-hour anal cavity search for drugs after allegedly running a stop sign, according to recently discovered documents. No drugs were found, and now David Eckert is suing police officers and the doctors who conducted the horrendous search, which occurred on January 2, 2013.
After searches of his car and his person revealed no drugs, officers held Eckert until a judge issued a warrant because officers alleged Eckert appeared to be “clenching his buttocks.” Officers then took Eckert to Gila Regional Medical Center in a neighboring county after doctors at Mimbres Memorial Hospital in Deming refused to conduct the search on ethical grounds, according to the court documents.
What happened, reports Chris Ramirez of KOB, is as follows:
1. Eckert's abdominal area was x-rayed; no narcotics were found.
2. Doctors then performed an exam of Eckert's anus with their fingers; no narcotics were found.
3. Doctors performed a second exam of Eckert's anus with their fingers; no narcotics were found.
4. Doctors penetrated Eckert's anus to insert an enema. Eckert was forced to defecate in front of doctors and police officers. Eckert watched as doctors searched his stool. No narcotics were found.