JUST A LITTLE BIT OF NEWS FROM MY PART OF THE COUNTRY.
In what can only be described as the absolute the worst traffic stop in history, doctors repeatedly probed a mans anus and subjected him to multiple humiliating medical procedures all because police incorrectly believed he may have been hiding narcotics in his ass.
As if that wasn’t horrifying enough, after being probed, x-rayed, probed again, subjected to enemas, made to poop in front of police, sedated, and given a forced colonoscopy, the man must pay for everything that happened because the hospital sent him the bill for the “procedures.”
David Eckert of Deming, New Mexico was stopped by police after they said he didn’t come a complete stop at a stop sign while exiting a Wal-Mart. [NOTE, I KNOW THIS PLACE, it’s NOT A REAL STOP SIGN.]
When Eckert stepped out of his car, officers believed he was clenching his buttocks for some reason, They took him to a local emergency room and ordered an anal cavity search after securing a warrant for one [VALID IN THAT COUNTY ONLY]. Doctors there refused to do it because they believed it to be unethical.
But the doctors at Gila Regional Medical Center [OUTSIDE THE COUNTY AND OUTSIDE THE EXPIRATION TIME OF THE WARRANT] apparently had no such ethical qualms. According to medical records and lawsuit documents, Eckert was subjected to the following procedures over the next few hours:
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Eckert’s abdominal area was x-rayed; no narcotics were found.
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Doctors then performed an exam of Eckert’s anus with their fingers; no narcotics were found.
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Doctors performed a second exam of Eckert;s anus with their fingers; no narcotics were found.
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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.
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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.
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Doctors penetrated Eckert’s anus a third time to insert another enema. Eckert was forced to defecate in front of doctors and police officers. Eckert watched as doctors searched his stool. No narcotics were found.
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Doctors then x-rayed Eckert again; no narcotics were found.
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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.
Again, no narcotics were found. And as the TV station reports, there were several problems with the warrant, including the fact that it was not valid in the county where the searches were performed and that it expired three hours before the procedures began.
Eckert is now suing the City of Deming and three of its officers, three Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies, a deputy District Attorney, the Gila Regional Medical Center and two of its doctors.
With any luck he’ll collect some money from them. He’ll need it; the Gila Regional Medical Center sent him the bill for all of the procedures and is threatening to take him to collections if he doesn’t pay it.
Way to go New Mexico drug warriors! Super good job!