Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Society, Torts

DEA Agents Who Arrested California Man On Minor Pot Charge and Then Left Him In Cell Without Light, Water, or Food For Days . . . Given Only Reprimands After Almost Killing Him

141px-DEA_badge_CThe Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is infamous for stacking charges on defendants and arresting individuals for seemingly minor possessions. However, when it comes to its own agents, there appears to be an endless level of leniency. In 2012, DEA carried out a raid on a home and arrested a group of young people who were smoking marijuana. One was Daniel Chong. Despite the minor violation, Chong was arrested and interrogated. He was told that he would be released but DEA agents simply forgot about him and left him in a cell for five days without food or water. At one point, as the 23-year-old cried and begged for help, someone with the DEA came in and turned off the light in his cell to leave him in the dark. He was given no food or water. Someone was charged, right? Someone was fired, right? No, the DEA has decided that a few reprimands and short suspensions is fine for starving and almost killing Chong.


I earlier wrote a column on how the U.S. government seems to be gradually adopting the legal standards of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. This case seem to fit that storyline all too neatly.

Even the Justice Department has questioned “the DEA’s failure to impose significant discipline on these employees.”

Chong was never charged with a crime and ultimately received a $4.1-million settlement.

The three DEA agents and supervisor responsible will continue to work for the government even though they almost killed Chong who was hospitalized for days after his ordeal. Four reprimands were issued and the supervisor was given a seven-day suspension. Case closed.

Source: LA Times

210 thoughts on “DEA Agents Who Arrested California Man On Minor Pot Charge and Then Left Him In Cell Without Light, Water, or Food For Days . . . Given Only Reprimands After Almost Killing Him”

  1. They could hear him. They chose to ignore him. Different story from the one involving Chong. Very different.

    Or not so different:

    The OIG conducted and documented an examination of this workspace to determine whether persons working in the large workspace could hear
    noises from inside the holding cells, specifically cell 217. While one OIG investigator stood inside cell 217, the other stood in the middle of the workspace on the other side of the cell’s rear wall. The OIG investigator inside cell 217 banged on the cell walls and door and spoke loudly, as Chong had described his conduct while in the cell. The OIG investigator in the workspace in the adjoining space clearly heard the banging and yelling.

    From:

    Description of document: Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector
    General (OIG) Investigative Report Pertaining to DEA
    Mistreatment of Detainee Daniel Chong, 2012-2013

    http://cryptome.org/2015/01/DOJ-OIG-DEA-DanielChong_2012-2013.pdf

    Found via Popehat.

  2. Nick –

    You’re right. We should trim the government bureaucracy and overlap every few years for a decade and create a more efficient government focused on its core responsibilities.

    Most jobs government can “create” is just bureaucracy and bloat.

  3. Our government is devolving into utter lawlessness and there is no accountability.

    Hillary Clinton broke the law when she failed to give the State Department access to her email account through which she conducted State business, failed to allow them to audit her Personal and State piles of emails to see if they agree with her findings, and then she broke the law when she wiped that sever clean.

    But she just basically gave a big what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it smile and a it-happened-ages-ago wave. Just like all the politicians and government employees before her. It’s like the DMV. Do you have a complaint? Tough.

    Fraud killed veterans in the VA scandal, but no one got fired, let alone charges filed.

    That’s what you get with big government and no accountability. That’s also why talk of government healthcare is utter madness.

  5. Rick

    As I mentioned, the details of this specific episode are hazy.

    My opinion was based upon the parts of the story that I do, admittedly, vaguely recall, and would tend to support the reasoning behind not bringing forth more serious charges against those responsible.

    Again, big difference between an accident and an on purpose. Negligence? Yes! Purposeful and intentional? No. The difference between the two tends to explain the outcome.

    On a more personal note, my parents once employed a sales rep for their business. This happened forty years ago, when he was traveling, by car, through some tiny southern town. He was pulled over, by a local police officer, and given a ticket for, allegedly, having crossed over the yellow line on the road. His car was searched, and in the trunk of the car the officer found a case of liquor bottles, which he was giving to his accounts as Christmas gifts. He was hauled back to the station, on a charge of transporting liquor across state lines, and thrown into a cell. He was a severe diabetic, and he informed the jailers, repeatedly, that he needed his medicine and food. They ignored him. For hours. He eventually went into diabetic shock and died. They didn’t forget about him. They could see him. They could hear him. They chose to ignore him. Different story from the one involving Chong. Very different.

  7. I. Annie

    Betty White. What a gal! Lol!

    Betty White for President!

  9. Manic phase means lots of big, vapid, stupid, photos. “Stupid is as stupid does.”

  10. steve, Your experience does not jive w/ what we KNOW has occurred w/ VA. Hopefully you are self aware enough to know that being an urbane attorney, you are astute and assertive enough to get the best service. We KNOW there was ample money for bureaucrats to get large bonuses for LYING about their records treating patients.

    I think I’ve discussed issues w/ you before. You are liberal, I libertarian. But, we should be able to agree on this. Going back to your anecdotal evidence of good VA healthcare. Firstly, you are in a city where veterans and enlisted military are respected and treated well. That’s one of the many things I love about our San Diego. But, put healthcare aside. When I go into a govt. office, be it police, clerk of courts, property records, etc., like yourself, I know how to get good to decent service. I am knowledgeable and savvy enough to know how to get bureaucrats to do their job. I am also observant and empathetic. I had occasion to go into that great County govt. building down near the harbor to look up some property owner information, helping out a neighbor. I don’t practice investigating in San Diego, but I know my way around. As I was being helped there was an older Hispanic couple getting sh!t on by a clerk. I got the info I needed and went over to assist the older couple, getting the clerks mind right in a smiling, positive way. I quickly assessed that was the tact to take. I do stuff like this all the time. I KNOW my ability to get govt. to work for me is not the norm. That older couple are the norm. So, I help people in govt. offices get the service they deserve. We taxpayers deserve our moneys worth. We will never get it, but we deserve it nonetheless. And, if you’re intellectually honest, you will admit that.

  11. @bam bam

    I have seen BattleCat’s shade called, “Smurfberry Blue”, which I am not sure if that is the actual shade, or just snarky. But, I guess Blue, is the new Red!,

    http://keyshiakaoir.com/cosmetics/lady-gaga-and-rihanna-rock-baby-bleu-lipstick-by-kaoir-cosmetics/#.VUoxZZMYFgA

    Or, in the words of The Pierces:

    Don’t be silly,
    turn on Billie.
    She’s singing us to sleep
    so we can dream our lives away.
    And if we wake up in full makeup,
    we’ll paint the town blue
    ’cause baby, red is so passe.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rgrz8QiTjw

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

  13. It’s not as if they enjoyed torturing this kid by purposely deserting him for days. Allegedly, no one even knew he was in there all that time. That may explain why these individuals still have their jobs, since there was no malicious intent to either hurt or kill the person. Hopefully, there are now more stringent safeguards in place, which will prevent this type of accident from ever occurring again.

    The circumstances demonstrated a complete disregard for the well-being of someone they were responsible for.

    the agents simply forgot about him.

    I don’t think this is right. As I recall multiple people heard the detainee but not one bothered to find out why he was still there or intervened to give him food and water. They just ignored him.

  16. Squeeky

    Does Macy’s sell that shade of lipstick?

    It that really Sarah Palin in blackface, with iridescent blue lipstick? Come on, Squeeky. Fess up.

  18. And how do we know that it was not intentional? Their testimony? Were they charged with anything?

  20. With a last name like Chong, why not throw in a hate crime while you’re at it? Why, I’m sure that he was targeted because of his Asian ancestry!

    I remember when this story came out. The details are hazy, but this young man was left, stuck in a locked cell, and the agents simply forgot about him. Yes, inexcusable, but a very tragic MISTAKE AND ACCIDENT; one which almost cost this young man his life, but still a mistake and an accident, nonetheless. These officers were not aware that he was still in that locked cell, from what I recall. It’s not as if they enjoyed torturing this kid by purposely deserting him for days. Allegedly, no one even knew he was in there all that time. That may explain why these individuals still have their jobs, since there was no malicious intent to either hurt or kill the person. Hopefully, there are now more stringent safeguards in place, which will prevent this type of accident from ever occurring again.

    BTW, 4.1 million will buy a whole lotta bread and water.

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