There is a highly disturbing case out of New Mexico where David Eckert has filed a federal case against the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, police officers with the City of Deming and medical professionals at the Gila Regional Medical Center. Eckert was stopped on a minor traffic violation and accused by an officer of holding his buttocks. What followed was a nightmare where officers and doctors subjected Eckert to outrageous abuse as they searched for drugs or contraband in his body.
On January 2, 2013, Eckert had finished shopping at Walmart when he did not stop at a stop sign after leaving the parking lot. I recently wrote about police have used such pretext stops for searches after the Supreme Court refused to consider the motivations of police in such encounters. In this case, Eckert was told to step out of his vehicle for the minor failure to stop. An officer said that he thought Eckert appeared to be clenching his buttocks. This was used as the basis for probable cause that he had drug in his anal cavity and he was taken to a hospital in Deming for an anal exam. The doctor however refused on ethical grounds.
That did not stop the police however. They went to Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City where doctors appear to have few ethical qualms. They reportedly x-rayed him but found no evidence of drugs. Rather than admit mistake, the doctors were then told to go forward and they explored Exkert’s anus using their fingers. No drugs were found. However, rather than admit their error, they went forward with a second penetration of the anus. No drugs were found. Rather than admit error, they then ordered a third penetration with an enema. He was then forced to defecate in front of witnesses. No drugs were found. They then penetrated his anus with a second enema. He was again forced to defecate in front of witnesses and his stool again inspected. No drugs were found. He was then penetrated a fifth time with a third enema and he was again forced to defecate in front of witnesses. No drugs were found. No willing to admit mistake, he was then sedated and doctors performed a colonoscopy where a scope with a camera was inserted into his anus, rectum, colon, and large intestines. No drugs were found. So to wrap of the account below: we have five manual penetrations; three forced defecations before witnesses; and an intrusive surgery under sedation. All of this was done without consent and without any basis other than an officer saying he looked like he was clenching his buttocks.
The alleged abuse follows the concept of “path dependence” in economics where people will not consider alternatives due to the investments in an original course or concept. When no drugs were found, it seemed to commit the police and doctors to more examinations to justify their actions.
Deming Police Chief Brandon Gigante is qouted as saying “We follow the law in every aspect and we follow policies and protocols that we have in place.” Obviously, those policies and protocols need to be examined.
David Eckert is suing The City of Deming; Deming Police Officers Bobby Orosco, Robert Chavez and Officer Hernandez; Hidalgo County Hidalgo County Deputies David Arredondo, Robert Rodriguez and Patrick Green; Deputy District Attorney Daniel Dougherty;the Gila Regional Medical Center; and doctors Robert Wilcox, M.D and Okay Odocha, M.D.
What is most disturbing is that the police secured a warrant from a judge with the presumed help of the district attorney. So if a person stopped on the most minor traffic stop appears to be clenching, that is considered sufficient for a warrant ordering an anal cavity search. The fact that such warrants are issued is a chilling glimpse into the increasing dominance of police stops and searches in our society — a trend fueled by decisions from the Supreme Court removing constitutional obstacles for police. In addition to barring review of the motivation of officers in pretextual stops, the Court has held that police can now take DNA samples from arrested individuals as a matter of course. It said also ruled that, if you remain silent, prosecutors can now use that silence against you to suggest guilt in a trial. These are only recent decisions that join a massive shift toward police powers in the United States. Citizens are finding themselves subject to the whim of officers in whether they will be allowed to leave or whether they will be searched. Police also now claim the right to handcuff citizens and transport to different locations without it being treated as placing someone into custody.
Just this week, the Supreme Court ruled that police can kick in a gate to pursue a man who ignored an order to stop. The court ruled unanimously to find qualified immunity that failure to stop is sufficient to allow warrantless entries on to property — reversing the Ninth Circuit. The police cited that fact that he was suspected of committing a misdemeanor — failure to obey an officer. In the case of Stanton v. Sims, Officer Mike Stanton was investigating an “unknown disturbance” in La Mesa when Nicholas Patrick entered a yard. Stanton kicked open the gate and hit homeowner, Drendolyn Sims, who struck her forehead on the steps. Sims sued the officer.
The Court noted that the issue is whether it was clear that the entry was unconstitutional, which the Ninth Circuit found in determining the decision was “incompetent”:
There is no suggestion in this case that Officer Stanton knowingly violated the Constitution; the question is whether, in light of precedent existing at the time, he was“plainly incompetent” in entering Sims’ yard to pursue the fleeing Patrick. Id., at ___ (slip op., at 12). The Ninth Circuit concluded that he was. It did so despite the fact that federal and state courts nationwide are sharply divided on the question whether an officer with probable cause to arrest a suspect for a misdemeanor may enter a home without a warrant while in hot pursuit of that suspect.
The Court however declined to answer the question and create a clear line. Instead, it simply found that the confusion, which will continue after this decision, was sufficient to preserve immunity:
We do not express any view on whether Officer Stanton’s entry into Sims’ yard in pursuit of Patrick was constitutional. But whether or not the constitutional rule applied by the court below was correct, it was not “beyonddebate.” al-Kidd, supra, at ___ (slip op., at 9). Stanton may have been mistaken in believing his actions were justified, but he was not “plainly incompetent.” Malley, 475 U. S., at 341.
Here is the per curiam decision.
We have not seen the response of the police to the lawsuit so this account is coming from the complaint without rebuttal or contradiction from the defendants.
Source: KOB
Kudos: Michael Blott
New Mexico must have wanted to seize his vehicle and propert.
Sent from my iPad
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Is this Sheriff voted into office? … Maybe next year he won’t be sheriff.
If the people vote for him … just flush, as barkin, talkin, itchin, scratchin, funky wunk, dog says. This guy likes fleas. Vote for someone else.
No. Some things aren’t okay, even if a majority votes that they are.
Juliet N, the beast in me would vote this sheriff out of office tomorrow, along with a mob of torch bearing “lets get Frankenstien” citizens. I read the link to the local newscast. They did a good job reporting it. Someone here posted a link to a similar occurrence in the same area. The internet is and will continue to be a resource of social justice. I am outraged at the exposition of injustice described in this post. The area NM. / is 3000 miles from me. The citizens there need to be outraged. My outrage ….. if not differed simply causes me undue stress. There are about 10 total POS involved here. The local people have the power to do something. I hope they do. I simply express my outrage and prepare for any similar injustice in my area. People can change things. Sheep just bleat. I am interested to see what develops in this case, and hope there is local outrage. I also hope J. Turley does follow up on this case.
Here’s Victim #2… no pun intended:
http://www.eclectablog.com/2013/11/after-report-of-new-mexico-man-being-abducted-sedated-raped-by-cops-another-victim-comes-forward.html
@Personanongrata:
Obviously no innocent person would have any reason to be tense in the presence of law enforcement.
First of all…. Unless the city, county, state or local municipality has incorporated the stop sign as part of the code or statute…. The stop is bad…. All traffic control devices have to be regulated unless an emergency arises necessitating a variance…… Hence, even a fruitful search could be suppressed…..
Second, unless they have a vald search everyone has some liability…… I wonder what got into these folks heads….. Thank goodness… They had other witness so the officer couldn’t plant evidence…..
@michaelb: Do you have a link to that story on the board referral?
@lottakatz: Thanks! Love the name, btw…
I think that this victim should go to the US attorney for New Mexico and file criminal civil rights violations against the police, DA, judge, and most especially the doctors. All of these criminals should be facing serious federal prison time for their actions. Can a citizen force or file such charges on their own? Can a citizen go to a sitting grand jury and request a hearing for a criminal complaint?
What a novel buttocks clenching pretext these “highly trained/professional” officers have created in order to commit state sanctioned rape on unwary
citizensserfs.I hope that the victim is taking this case to the New Mexico Medical licensing board to revoke the licenses of those doctors. Those doctors should never be allowed near any health care facility given their lack of ethics and abusive practices.
Excellent follow-ups Michaelb, Thanks. once is too often but twice and the same officers? Outrageous.
AnneMarie Dickey way back at #1 has the right idea. People keep waiting for something big to happen that has “This Is Totalitarianism” carried in a banner above it but that’s not the way it works. There isn’t going to be footage reminiscent of the Germans marching into Paris for future Americans to point to. It is a death of a thousand cuts. At some point when a broad patchwork of court decisions allows virtually any incursion into the constitutional protections citizens have against police or other state actors then the constitution doesn’t really exist.
Good posting AnneMarie.
This is yet another example of why I don’t accept the “bad apple” excuse for horrific police behavior. Let’s assume this was just one or two troglodytes who somehow managed to get on the force. Though it is still insane, I can see the warped logic in their commander defending them; to do otherwise would be handing the victim ammunition for his inevitable civil suit. But where are the other officers? Where are the rank and file? Not a goddamned one of them will be willing to come out and say, “This is disgusting, this isn’t why I became a cop.” Their union will defend the animals, further insulting justice while also managing to throw more dirt on the casket of organized labor.
I no longer trust police. At all. Even the ones that aren’t actively attacking people are, explicitly or not, defending the monsters they work with.
This is not the first time the same officers tried this
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3210356.shtml?cat=500#.UnqjoHBwoWk
The doctors from the Gila Regional Medical Center have been turned over to the state licensing board. It’s possible they could lose the ability to practice to medicine.
UPDATE The police K-9 that signaled on Eckert’s car, named Leo, gives wrong signals “pretty often,” reported KOB4 Eyewitness News. The dog wasn’t even certified in the state of New Mexico, and his certification had been expired since April 2011 — well past the annual re-certification requirement.
I would love to see the findings on the ethics investigation by the New Mexico Medical Board.
There was a case discussed on this blog back in the summer of 2012 involving a woman named Leila Tarantino. Ms. Tarantino alleged she was strip searched on a public road by Citrus County Florida deputies. A lawsuit was filed in Federal Court and has been proceeding as our justice system often does..slowly. However, discovery is cut off on 12/6/13 so there should be an outcome earlier next year.
I predict that not a single damn one of the defendants in the lawsuit will lose his job.
Anon Posted,
Some doctors and psychologists have been trying to get these people removed and sanctioned by their respective “professional” organizations for years. No success.
This story and the one you linked to show how out of control people with power become when there is no one to hold them accountable. Lawsuits are one possible way, often closed off to people at this time. Mass, peaceful resistance is, IMO, one of the few things that has any chance of going up against the powerful and stopping their abuses.
When the president crows about how he’s really good at killing people, as Obama has done, that thinking greenlights anyone on down the food chain to do unspeakable acts.
word press is refusing to let me post a comment. It just says posting comment and comes up to the original story. Is someone able to look into this please?
Anon Posted,
Some doctors and psychologists have been trying to get these people removed and sanctioned by their respective “professional” organizations for years. No success.
This story and the one you linked to show how out of control people with power become when there is no one to hold them accountable. Lawsuits are one possible way, often closed off to people at this time. Mass, peaceful resistance is, IMO, one of the few things that has any chance of going up against the powerful and stopping their abuses.
When the president crows about how he’s really good at killing people, as Obama has done, that thinking greenlights anyone on down the food chain to do unspeakable acts.