Posted on 11/05/2013 5:28:49 AM PST by ican'tbelieveit
This 4 On Your Side investigation looks into the actions of police officers and doctors in Southern New Mexico. 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.
What Happened
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.
Search Warrant Concerns
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.
No Comment
KOB reached out to the attorneys representing the defendants in the lawsuit and all declined to comment on the situation. The attorneys said it’s their personal policy not comment on pending litigation.
4 On Your Side Investigative Reporter Chris Ramirez cornered Deming Police Chief Brandon Gigante.
“As the police chief what reassurances could you give people when they come through your town that they won’t be violated or abused by your police officers?” Ramirez asked Chief Gigante.
“We follow the law in every aspect and we follow policies and protocols that we have in place,” Chief Gigante replied.
“Do you think those officers in this particular case did that?” Ramirez asked.
Gigante didn’t answer, instead he referred Ramirez to his attorney.
The Lawsuit
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.
They could have put him in a cell for a few hours if they were that sure, let nature take its course.
Just looking at your profile, I KNOW you left off the /sar tag! But I get your point - you left a police state government controlled society only to see this one descend in the same direction.
I have been arguing for years that it is sheer foolishness to make primary stops easy for LEO to justify. Let’s be clear, seat belt laws, even stop sign floating, turn signals, etc are all engineered to enable law enforcement to make easy primary stops.
To allow The State an easy way to stop citizens is really stupid thing to do. In the past it has been routine for LEO to use these laws to harass minorities and the poor. Today, however these sorts of abuses are main stream. Everybody will have contact with Law Enforcement if you use the streets. The system is engineered that way.
It is a huge mistake, and a mistake perpetrated to some extent by Law and Order Conservatives. It you doubt me, then consider the Willie Horton political ads. Law and Order Conservatives are in conflict with Small Government Conservatives and will always be so.
To finalize my arguments though I think that at least around here the balance has shifted against the Law and Order crowd. But there are still plenty here who have not had their minds changed who will still defend red light cameras, traffic stops for any and everything and a strong police presence.
As a small government conservative I want a strong 2nd amendment, and protection from the courts if I have to exercise self defense. I want small weak governments with small frustrated and underfunded Police. Police who live in fear of legal action from their constituents.
Courts self funding through fines collected from the Police must STOP. Monies and items confiscated by Police should NEVER be used by the Police or the Courts, either directly or through proceeds of sales. The linkage should be broken with cops being scared of personal liability lawsuits and criminal liability for their actions. Otherwise the pendulum swings to far.
Today, cops act in virtual impunity. It must stop, but it is too late. You people know who you are, and you people who built this present, by your past demands for safety and justice were warned. But now you get what you wrought despite the warnings of many of us. You get anal probed for a floating a stop sign. It is to late to change it. Enjoy the probe!
I’ve been to that Walmart.
Stopped at that stop sign (police building right across the street from it).
Will be there again in 3 weeks.
Wow.
What makes you think I’m on the cops’ side on this? Are you reading things I didn’t say or imply??????? I’m just wondering why they doubled and tripled and quadrupled down on what was an outrage to begin with. They seemed to really believe they would find something. If you were a rogue cop, making a WAG on a random citizen, and you came up empty, you would ordinarily give up at that point, not take him to a hospital to do a colonoscopy. I think they really did think he was holding drugs, and used a bogus traffic stop to pull him over and search for them. Again, the question is, what made them so sure?? And what made you read things into comments that aren’t there?
“I wonder if Eckert is working with real estate agents for some nice beach property in Malibu. And I think a Bugatti would be cool.”
I don’t know about CA real estate, but my bet that HIdalgo County is going to be re-named Eckert County. I don’t think that I have ever read something so egregious. The doctors involves should loose their medical licenses, and all the cops need some jail time.
Doctors already are an arm of Law Enforcement. Doctors have many reporting mandates.
Did they get a bad tip? Something made them think this guy really was holding, I think, and they were so convinced, they were willing to go to any lengths to prove it. Now they'll be unemployed and the county's taxpayers will be out millions.
The City ( Which is the people of the city...) should not be liable....
The rolling stop sign violation is engineered for the purpose of providing probable cause, as are many traffic laws. The public thinks they are being protected, the LE establishment just snickers at them and uses the law for what it was intended: Subverting the 4th amendment.
LOL
Just another day in the “obamanation”
“I’ve been to that Walmart.
Stopped at that stop sign”
Me, too.
In fact, I’m sure I’ve done a few rolling stops there. It’s not even a real stop sign, I think.
I think they did it because they CAN. The Police are empowered to do so.
I don’t think the police have that kind of power.
Really? This sort of thing happens all the time to people who can’t complain. This one just got in the news.
You say the Police don’t have this kind of power? But they do, and they did? Prima Facia evidence right in front of you.
The Police state that a drug dog “hit” on the subject. Well so what. Cops can say anything. Cops can make a dog indicate anything they cant. God help you if a Cop doesn’t like the way you look, or is bucking for a promotion, or is bored, or if his old lady pissed him off last night and wouldn’t give him a BJ. You are screwed.
What this doctor did was not okay dochay!
Agreed - I hate drugs but this is over the top insane.
There have been four police shootings in New Mexico in the past two weeks. And all have started with the victims shooting first. The worst was an Albuquerque one where a man with a criminal record and a "cop killer" tattoo lured police into an ambush, shot the first responding officer, took his patrol car and started a chase that took them through the city and resulted in the wounding of three other officers and the shooter's eventual death following crashing the police car. The worst hurt was a popular female sheriff's deputy who was wounded when she encountered the gunman driving the opposite direction and was shot through the car into her lower body. She was saved only by a following deputy who saw her car slow and stopped before crashing. The other shootings resulted from domestic disputes, persons on drugs, or mental problems.
The point is that violence from the criminals is on the rise and though we, the potential victims, also have guns for defense, we rely on the police to protect the young, women, old and defenseless from the criminal who preys on them. Castigating the entire law enforcement community for the actions of a few outliers does nothing to enhance protection of those who need it. And increasingly, right or wrong, criminals are getting a pass due to the courts, lawyers and bleeding hearts, and are back on the streets ready to do violence to persons and property.
I agree that police tactics designed mainly to raise money (red light cameras, speed traps, car confiscation for minor infractions, etc.) need to be curtailed and do nothing to enhance their respect and reputation. However, in addition to us protecting ourselves; but we need them to protect others.
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