Suit filed in meth-lab raid (forced her to strip outdoors)

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2079683,00.html ^

[Stew Padasso]

Suit filed in meth-lab raid

Thornton woman says cops forced her to strip outdoors

By Jim Hughes Denver Post Staff Writer

A Thornton woman has sued the members of the North Metro Drug Task Force for forcing her to strip down for an outdoor "decontamination" during a fruitless drug raid in April 2002.

Barbara Adriaens was working on homework for an art class in the second-floor bedroom of her condominium when the Northglenn/Thornton SWAT team burst in to execute a search warrant for a suspected methamphetamine lab, according to her lawsuit.

Even though officers found no evidence of a meth lab - only a small amount of methamphetamine - they forced Adriaens to go outside, strip down and wash herself in a kiddie pool, says the suit, which was filed in federal court on Adriaens' behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union.

"The avowed purpose of the decontamination process is to protect others from the potentially hazardous and volatile chemicals that can be present in an operating methamphetamine lab," the suit says.

The kiddie pool, filled with cold water and a cleanser, was only partially enclosed by cloth tarpaulins, Adriaens says in her suit.

"The inside of the enclosure was visible not only to numerous male officers standing in the parking lot but also from the second- floor windows of the other residences in the housing complex," the suit says.

The lawsuit names the cities of Northglenn and Thornton and several individual officers and firefighters as defendants. It also lists an unnamed "private videographer" as a defendant.

The videographer was "an individual working for a private film company" riding along with the task force, according to the suit.

Task force officials could not be reached Monday night. Adriaens eventually pleaded guilty and was convicted of possession of a controlled substance. She was sentenced to community corrections.

[TheBigB]

The videographer was "an individual working for a private film company"

I think the Girls Gone Wild crew is starting to scrape bottom...

[verity]

HAH!!

[Stew Padasso]

Meth Whores Gone Wild! Should be a big seller.

[Blood of Tyrants]

But you see, the War on Drugs is so important that we can simply ignore the Constitution and common decency.

[goldstategop]

She should be lucky they didn't find a meth lab. The stuff is hazardous. It was a routine decontamination procedure followed in these cases. And if she didn't want the officers to make sure she wasn't on the stuff, she shouldn't have had meth in her possession to begin with. Memo to the ACLU: possession of an illegal drug is NOT a constitutional right.

[Delta 21]

WhaT 'YA gOnNA dO ?!?

[Wolfie]

The cops were in the same building. Did they strip down and hop in the kiddie pool for decontamination too?

[TheBigB]

Bad girls, bad girls, whatcha gonna do...

[A.J.Armitage]

And if she didn't want the officers to make sure she wasn't on the stuff,

That's a euphemism. Say what you mean: If she didn't want to officers to coerce her into providing a free strip show.

Suspected female terrorists in Iraq get treated better.

[Delta 21]

Now on DVD !

[Veracious Poet]

Nothing to see guys, move on...GUYS??

[Stew Padasso]

Maybe this slipped past you:

"Even though officers found no evidence of a meth lab - only a small amount of methamphetamine - they forced Adriaens to go outside, strip down and wash herself in a kiddie pool"


According to the article, this was even after they "burst in."

[fso301]

I need to see some pictures of her in order to form an opinion as to the appropriatness of having her strip.

[goldstategop]

Yep. I'm sure it was traumatizing. She lived which is a lot more than you can say for most folks around meth.

[The kings dead]

So it's OK with you if people found with meth (no lab) are forced to strip outdoors?

[The kings dead]

the War on Drugs is so important that we can simply ignore the Constitution and common decency.

Conservatism ain't what it used to be.

[DuncanWaring]

And if she didn't want the officers to make sure she wasn't on the stuff, she shouldn't have had meth in her possession to begin with

Sound advice also for Mario Paz and Ismael Mena.

Memo to the ACLU: possession of an illegal drug is NOT a constitutional right.

The War on Alcohol required a Constitutional Amendment (since repealed).

Why doesn't the War On Other Drugs require a Constitutional Amendment?

[goldstategop]

We have expectations of privacy. But in the WOD, they are few and between cause of defendants attempts to get rid of evidence before they're caught and if you're a cop, you can't always tell if someone is "high" on a drug like meth that is known to induce paranoia and craziness on those addicted to it. If the woman could have been strip searched with a minimum of invasion to her privacy, that should have been done. Like I said, if you don't want the cops breaking into your home, stay away from illegal drugs.

[The kings dead]

If the woman could have been strip searched with a minimum of invasion to her privacy, that should have been done.

You've inched toward simple decency ... but away from the facts. The issue was not a search but an alleged "contamination" (although no lab was found).