Not only was a New Mexico man, who’d been shopping at Wal-Mart, stopped by police for a rolling stop at a stop sign, but these very observant civic heroes who had just stopped this potential drifting intersection menace, noticing what they said appeared to be the now “suspect’s” clenching of his buttocks, determined that he must be hiding drugs. In his ass. And so naturally they obtained a warrant. To search his anus. And his rectum. and his colon. And his (multiple) stools — each of them coaxed out by medical personnel attempting to aid our peace officers in their quest to ferret out the dangerous narcotics from the stop-sign cheating Wal-Mart shopper’s digestive tract by way of subjecting this potential drug lord to several enemas and X-rays, and even a colonoscopy. Mr Eckert is 63.
A review of medical records, police reports and a federal lawsuit show deputies with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, police officers with the City of Deming and medical professionals at the Gila Regional Medical Center made some questionable decisions.
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.
The lawsuit claims that Deming Police tried taking Eckert to an emergency room in Deming, but a doctor there refused to perform the anal cavity search citing it was “unethical.”
But physicians at the Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City agreed to perform the procedure and a few hours later, Eckert was admitted.
[…]
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.
“If the officers in Hidalgo County and the City of Deming are seeking warrants for anal cavity searches based on how they’re standing and the warrant allows doctors at the Gila Hospital of Horrors to go in and do enemas and colonoscopies without consent, then anyone can be seized and that’s why the public needs to know about this,” Kennedy said.
[…]
There are major concerns about the way the search warrant was carried out. Kennedy argues that the search warrant was overly broad and lacked probable cause. But beyond that, the warrant was only valid in Luna County, where Deming is located. The Gila Regional Medical Center is in Grant County. That means all of the medical procedures were performed illegally and the doctors who performed the procedures did so with no legal basis and no consent from the patient.
In addition, even if the search warrant was executed in the correct New Mexico county, the warrant expired at 10 p.m. Medical records show the prepping for the colonoscopy started at 1 a.m. the following day, three hours after the warrant expired.
“This is like something out of a science fiction film, anal probing by government officials and public employees,” Kennedy said.
[…]
David Eckert is suing The City of Deming and Deming Police Officers Bobby Orosco, Robert Chavez and Officer Hernandez.
Eckert is also suing Hidalgo County Hidalgo County Deputies David Arredondo, Robert Rodriguez and Patrick Green.
Eckert is also suing Deputy District Attorney Daniel Dougherty and the Gila Regional Medical Center including Robert Wilcox, M.D and Okay Odocha, M.D.
Of course, you’d think that the higher ups in southern New Mexico law enforcement would, after finding out about this PR nightmare, scurry to cut their losses: suspend the bullying zealots involved; bring the actions of the medical facility and the specific doctors to the attention of licensing bodies and professional associations, etc. But it seems these public servants have decided to take a different tack: namely, billing Mr Eckert for the cost of the procedures they forced on him.
Albuquerque civil rights attorney Shannon Kennedy is representing Eckert and says she is seeking “in excess of $1 million in punitive damages alone” from the law enforcement and medical personnel responsible and their employers.
[UPDATE: Second Anal Probe Lawsuit Being Filed Against N.M. Police]
“We see this as a multimillion-dollar case,” Kennedy said. “This is essentially medical anal rape, numerous times over a 12-hour period. I can’t imagine anything more horrifying than what happened to our client. It’s just sadistic.”
The apparent justification for the search, Kennedy said, was that police believed Eckert’s buttocks were clenched during the traffic stop.
But, she said, it’s also possible the officers just didn’t like how her client looks.
“Maybe the officers who did this don’t like him living in their community,” said Kennedy. “He’s a white boy, a scraggly white boy, and all these officers are Hispanic. It’s a New Mexico thing.”
Kennedy said her client, 63-years-old when he was detained, looks somewhat like rocker Tom Petty and says he denies standing with his buttocks clenched.
“I’ve never read anything like that before for probable cause,” Kennedy said.
In the search warrant affidavit that sought permission for an anal cavity probe, one police officer said he asked Eckert for permission to physically search him after the minor traffic stop. When Eckert refused, the document says, a police K-9 dog alerted them to the side of his car. Kennedy alleges the dog is not certified to search for drugs and may actually be a pet.
A judge granted the search warrant for the anal cavity probe, but not necessarily a colonoscopy.
[…]
Officers then transported Eckert to the Gila Regional Medical Center after an emergency room doctor at a Deming, N.M., hospital told them “this is unethical,” Kennedy said. The doctor who refused to comply with police is willing to testify if the lawsuit goes to trial, according to Kennedy.
After arriving at the Gila facility, doctors examined Eckert’s anal cavity twice with their fingers, put him through an x-ray scan and then inserted three rounds of enemas into his anus. After each enema, doctors examined the stool sample produced. Eckert was then given a second x-ray scan and forced to undergo a colonoscopy with anesthesia.
It’s unclear why the colonoscopy was necessary after enemas and x-rays did not reveal hidden drugs. Eckert was sent a $6,000 bill for the medical procedures he involuntarily underwent, his lawyer says.
[…]
Hidalgo County Sheriff Saturnino Madero did not return a U.S. News request for comment. Deming Police Chief Brandon Gigante declined to comment on the case when reached by KOB-TV on Monday, simply saying, “We follow the law in every aspect and we follow policies and protocols that we have in place.”
Kennedy filed a motion for summary judgment Oct. 24, asking the court to rule on the facts of the case, which she says are not disputed. She says defendants responded by expressing interest in resolving the case outside of court.
I post this story not only because it is truly disturbing, but also because I’d once again like to dispel the notion that, when and if a civil uprising occurs, the belief by many on the right that law enforcement will necessarily take the side of the people fighting for liberty, is often belied by the facts on the ground, be they in cases like this, or when they dutifully show up in riot gear to keep 90-year-old votes from protesting outside the White House.
Some cops are your friends. Many others are not. And in a country obsessed with “bullying,” I find it rather ironic that we grant the real bullying power to our bureaucrats and civil servants — who will often use the accusation of bullying to assert their own petty tyrannical impulses.
On the plus side, though, this story does have something of a bright spot: Mr Eckert and his clenched buttocks didn’t have with them a family pet. So no dogs were shot during the making of this invasive anal drama.
(h/t John B)
say what you want Chris Dorner never once anally raped nobody that’s for sure
But it seems these public servants have decided to take a different tack: namely, billing Mr Eckert for the cost of the procedures they forced on him.
Well sure he was billed: just like with ClownDisasterCare, he is the beneficiary!
It’s not surprising that municipal cops would try a stunt like this. What’s surprising is their ability to find a doctor and hospital who would go along. A warrant allows the police to do certain things. It does not allow them to co-opt members of the public to assist. Even a court order requiring the accused to submit to the tests doesn’t mean the doctors had to help. Although the cops blew the warrant 60 ways to Sunday, it is the medical professionals who are really hanging out here.
They went to the hospital out-of-county to get it done (violating the limits of the warrant) because the doctors at the hospital in the county refused.
‘twould be good to see the wrongdoers serve prison time, the better that they learn the lesson needing taught. Mere cash exchange won’t teach that. It’s just too far removed. And making matters worse, no concern for swift justice will take its proper place in the process. Dawdle and waste is the name of that game.
Yeah, prosecution is in order here. They raped this guy.
Also, medical licenses must be revoked.
I long for the Rodney King days where the cops simply beat the crap out of you.
Let me humbly offer that the police, fully expecting to send Mr. Eckert to prison, were kindly and thoughtfully preparing him for the rigors of prison life by repeatedly anally-raping him.
Sure, they were wrong, but they had the best of intentions.
I’m in no way excusing the police behavior, but i am curious what Mr. Eckert’s rap sheet looks like. I’d hate to think he went through all this because he looks like Tom Petty.
Then there is the cop shooting a man who was walking while whittling.
The cops claim the guy threatened the cop with the knife. Witnesses beg to differ. The settlement the city paid says the cop executed the guy whittling.
The Tom Petty remark makes me think more of his character “Lucky” from King of the Hill. Seems like something that would happen to “Lucky”.
I’m pretty sure I heard on Beck yesterday he had some sort of misdemeanor possession charge many years ago. I don’t remember the particulars.
If the man had wants or warrants, the Barney Fife’s would have known this prior to taking him to the hospital to be repeatedly raped.
WTF? This poor man was raped repeatedly.
I do have to say, having been to NM numerous times, there are definitely parts where I get what Atty Kennedy was talking about …”it’s a NM thing”…..
I’d very much like to see the DDA and the judge who rubber-stamped the warrant driven out of the profession. Every defense attorney who shows up in front of either one should make a point of having “Is it true that you facilitated the anal rape of an innocent man?” entered into the court record at every opportunity. Hell, I’d run for Sheriff and change my name to “Never Anally Raped Anybody” Squid for the ballot.
Or maybe just cut the brake lines in all the squad cars and then call in some really big incident at the bottom of a hill…
My next door neighbor is a CHP officer and a truly decent guy.
He is the only LEO I trust, because I know him personally. All others are, by default, assumed to be potential tyrannical, power-hungry a-holes likes the ones in the linked story unless proven otherwise.
[UPDATE: Second Anal Probe Lawsuit Being Filed Against N.M. Police]
That alone should be enough to cause a few heads to roll. How did we wind up living in a world where little is likely to happen to the perpetrators, and how much longer are we willing to continue living in such a world?
I have heard that there is a “Hawaiian thing” as well
Ken White at Popehat has gotten a copy of the search warrant affidavit, and raises an interesting point:
There’s quite a bit of new info about the case in his post. Read the whole thing, if so inclined.
“They went to the hospital out-of-county to get it done”
They kept him past the duration of the warrant as well so false imprisonment, kidnapping aggravated by use of a deadly weapon, official opression.
25 years per guy involved, fired with extreme prejudice, forfeit of pensions, criminal charges, full exposure to civil action both on grounds of misconduct and tort. Throw the book at them and make them hand it back and then throw it at them again. Use them as an object lesson of self destructive police dumb assery. Fire the head of the police who tried to pass this off as normal. Retrain everybody else. Sue the town, sue the county, sue the hospital, as as McGehee says those Dr.s and techs involved are accessories and accomplices and don’t practice any more.
MIght as well put the cops and doctors involved on the sex offender list too.
These cops seem bad enough that the only lesson they would learn is that next time just shoot the guy and claim self defense.
Don’t give them any ideas, bgbear.
next time just shoot the guy and claim self defense.
– …and that is the sole purpose of carrying an extra piece, don’cha’know.
I thought I was the only one who knew that, BBH.
– If the guy has a lawyer worth a crappola in a NJ motel bathroom, it will be “He pays the $3000 dollar exam bills, and then they (all of them collectively) pay the 10 million per rape bill.”
– Sounds equitable.
– GMTA – As always Leigh – :)
I get it. It is like how the power companies keep dead and singed squirrels on their trucks so if they can’t explain a power outage they just toss the squirrel on the ground and blame the poor little critter ;)
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/06/dads-attempt-to-teach-son-a-lesson-ends-in-the-most-tragic-way-possible/
A guy refused to buy his son some cigarettes. His son grabbed the guy’s truck and took off in it. The guy calls the cops and says his son hust stole his truck. Cops shoot guy’s son to death when he refuses to get out of the cab.
If anyone prowls around my house, I am taking my chances with the bad guys. With any luck the criminals will not be heavily armed, less likely to shoot, and perhaps bad shots if they do.
You certainly don’t want to call the trigger-happy po-lice, bgbear.
You’re endangered, after all.
Having lived in NM for 18+ years, I’m not surprised this happened. I’m surprised that it happened in southern NM. It is truly a melting pot culture down there. Northern NM however, there are entire towns where if you are of a certain skin color and/or a surname that is not of Spanish origin, you are not very welcome there.
Since only white people can be racists, I wonder why that is in Norther NM.
White people are drawn toward magnetic North, of course.
In case my poor writing skilz don’t make it clear, white people are not well received in these towns.
Been there, Garym. Your meaning was clear.
“Teh Narrative shall be obeyed!!!”
– Todays memo outlines the steps you must take to stifle all decent and silence those who would frustrate and ignore the Narrative Imperative
™…… Seig Hiel Komrads!!!!
To help the 16 million uninsured Americans learn about their options and sign up for coverage,
are these 16 mil the old or new uninsured?
Back when they were passing this thing, weren’t we constantly being told that there were 45 million uninsured? See, just by changing the narrative (e.g. replacing old lies with new ones) they’ve dramatically reduced the uninsured ‘problem’ in America!
Once the truth takes on a certain malleability, ‘progress’ becomes a lot easier, dontcha know. Those old-school progressives actually had to make the trains run on time.
– The only possible way that Bumblefuck would even think of doing this there must be a bunch of Dems about ready for a lynching in the WH.
Is there a federal investigation underway to determine whether or not this guy’s civil liberties were violated?
Or is he too white (or white-hispanic), and thus too potentially Republican to have civil rights?
Krauthammer also told viewers that problems with the ObamaCare website had taken a toll.
“The president now is toxic,” he said. “The thing is called ObamaCare. There’s no running away from it, it’s got his name on it. You see the president, you think about the policy and you know that it’s a disaster. And the problem for the Democrats is they are hostage to a bunch of geeks working around, right now, late into the night, trying to fix a system which is not just the glitches it talked about, the architecture, the underlying structure of it is wrong.”
– Maybe he could make things a lot better if he just had the 4 people in Delaware that have signed up so far talk about their experiences.
The number is a perfect fit for the new uninsured aka the 5%ers.
Who in the real world are more like 97% except for all those special exemptions which have flowed out to the best buds of the ol’ prez, for now. Exemptions have expiration dates and prices for renewal that will be high.
Linked Certainly not all cops are bad. But when you have bad cops, there is a lot of bad they can do under the guise of being officers of the law. And I am pretty sure the drafters and signers of the Constitution would have found anal probes to be out side of normal search and seizure.
[…] Protein Wisdom: Great Leaps Forward […]
Did Eckert have a history of butt smuggling?
If true that tends to make this story seem a wee bit less egregious. I guess we will find out.
EBL – I take a back seat to no one in my criticisms when the police overstep their powers. However, I thought there was a large chunk of this story that was missing. And leave it up to the anti-police druggies at Reason magazine to print the story without the background information.
Reason is just as bad as the left-wing media when it comes to the amount of bias in their articles.
That is a rumor at best and there is nothing but that rumor within the 4 corners of the affidavit. No one affirms such knowledge in the affidavit. It is utterly irrelevant and would still be had he previously been muling Mexican families in his ass. Unless someone were swearing to such knowledge, it had no place in the application.
All of that said, if there’s any evidence that there is any truth to it, I haven
t seen it.
The Popehat link from John Bradley’s November 7, 2013 at 1:16 pm post takes that issue apart quite nicely.
That’s a great link Pablo.
In the way of great leaps forward, ClownDisasterSecOState Kerry: To Intifada3, and beyond! or, There’s a Peacemaking Iranian Nuke in the Offing.
Israel says: “We too want “piece” of Iran.”