Absolutely unimaginable this could happen in America (Daily Kos)

[Glia]

New rules for not getting killed or harmed by cops or wanna-be cops:

• Do not wear a hoodie, especially with the hood up.
• Do not play with toy guns outside -- even if they have orange "toy" markings on the barrel.
• Always make a complete stop at a stop sign.
• Do not clench your buttocks near a cop.

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Absolutely unimaginable this could happen in America
This news report out of New Mexico is so disturbing, it's hard to imagine this could happen in America. Talk about an unreasonable search:

The incident began January 2, 2013 after David Eckert finished shopping at the Wal-Mart in Deming. According to a federal lawsuit, Eckert didn't make a complete stop at a stop sign coming out of the parking lot and was immediately stopped by law enforcement.
Eckert's attorney, Shannon Kennedy, said in an interview with KOB that after law enforcement asked him to step out of the vehicle, he appeared to be clenching his buttocks. Law enforcement thought that was probable cause to suspect that Eckert was hiding narcotics in his anal cavity. While officers detained Eckert, they secured a search warrant from a judge that allowed for an anal cavity search.

Initially the doctor on duty refused the search, citing it as "unethical." Unfortunately, after several hours, hospital personnel relented and did the search. Here's what happened to David Eckert at that hospital:

While there, Eckert was subjected to repeated and humiliating forced medical procedures. A review of Eckert's medical records, which he released to KOB, and details in the lawsuit show the following happened:

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.

5. Doctors penetrated Eckert's anus to insert an enema a second time. Eckert was forced to defecate in front of doctors and police officers. Eckert watched as doctors searched his stool. No narcotics were found.

6. Doctors penetrated Eckert's anus to insert an enema a third time. Eckert was forced to defecate in front of doctors and police officers. Eckert watched as doctors searched his stool. No narcotics were found.

7. Doctors then x-rayed Eckert again; no narcotics were found.

8. Doctors prepared Eckert for surgery, sedated him, and then performed a colonoscopy where a scope with a camera was inserted into Eckert's anus, rectum, colon, and large intestines. No narcotics were found.

Throughout this ordeal, Eckert protested and never gave doctors at the Gila Regional Medical Center consent to perform any of these medical procedures.


Think that's outrageous? David Eckert has since been billed by the hospital for all the procedures and they are threatening to take him to collections. Must-watch news report on the case from KOB 4 in New Mexico:

[arthunter]

Good Lord ... this is insane! ... there must be more to the story ... perhaps he made an enemy on the police force before this incident happened? ...

New rules for not getting killed or harmed by cops or wanna-be cops:

[podfish]

Good Lord ... this is insane! ... there must be more to the story ... perhaps he made an enemy on the police force before this incident happened? ...

like many sex-crime stories, the thing that makes this a bit man-bites-dog is that it's a male getting the treatment. There have been many well documented cases of women having equally intrusive body searches for years - and recently, with police videos being made routinely, there's better documentation of it. The thing some may find surprising is that this behavior in the perpetrator's eye (and the eyes of his peers, in the places where this is apparently standard practice) seems like not a big deal. Either it's seen as a reasonable way to treat a possible perp, or as at worst a mild abuse of power. Weird, but people can be like that. Look at the various reactions to the hazing/abuse of an NFL player to see this played out in technicolor. A lot of people are apparently able to look at what is clearly abusive treatment to some (me...) and find it instead a natural part of human interaction. Fortunately most in our society (and in most police forces, as far as I can tell) would find the body cavity searches too extreme. But most are pretty cool with scanning you and patting you down at the airport...