Man to Get $1.6M for Humiliating 3-Enema Ordeal After Traffic Stop

[Hissyspit]

Source: ABA Journal

Man to get $1.6M for humiliating 3-enema ordeal after traffic stop

By Martha Neil
Jan 15, 2014, 12:15 pm CST
A city and county in New Mexico have agreed to settle for $1.6 million their portion of litigation brought by an arrestee who said he was subjected to a humiliating hospital anal exam involving three enemas, a colonoscopy and more after a traffic stop last year.

The city of Deming and Hidalgo County got a search warrant to authorize the examination of David Eckert after he was pulled over for failing to yield to a stop sign when exiting a parking lot on Jan. 2. It was based on a police dog's alert to the alleged presence of drugs near the driver's seat of his vehicle and a claim that Eckert appeared to be clenching his buttocks, according to the Associated Press and Forbes.

However, the warrant was valid only in Luna County, and a physician at a Deming emergency room refused to perform the examination, Eckert alleges in his suit, which was filed in federal court in New Mexico. Doctors at a second hospital, Gila Regional Medical Center, agreed to perform the exam, but the facility is located in Silver City, across the county line.

Despite the exam, no drugs were found on Eckert or in his vehicle.

"It was medically unethical and unconstitutional," his lawyer, Shannon Kennedy, told the Associated Press. "He feels relieved that this part is over and believes this litigation might make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else."

Read more: http://www.abajournal.com/mobile/article/man_to_get_1.6m_for_humiliating_3-enema_hospital_colonoscopy_ordeal_after

---

http://gawker.com/man-who-endured-3-enema-traffic-stop-awarded-1-6-milli-1502645746

- snip -

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.

Eckert's suit also named Gila Medical Center and the doctors who performed the search there; that portion of the case is still ongoing.

[noiretextatique]

1. good for him

totally fng outrageous behavior by the cops and the doctors.

[1000words]

2. Another big check coming from the doctors

Cha-ching!

[azurnoir]

3. GOOD

to call this unethical is an understatement

[theHandpuppet]

4. Should have been more

And should have included some revoked medical licenses!

[lapfog_1]

5. all because of a police dog alert?

I would think that the award should be for $10 million and a promise by police to retire all drug sniffing dogs.

[theHandpuppet]

16. Either you misinterpreted my post

Or you're having a bit of fun?

[sdfernando]

6. Read the post

the doctors and medical center portion of the suit are still ongoing.

[Xipe Totec]

8. Should have been more from the cops and the city

AND get some more money from the Mengele wannabes in the ongoing suit.

[warrant46]

20. Imagine how exciting for the Amateur Sherlock Holmes who searched the stool

WOW !! What a job can you imagine 8 straight hours of searching stools for drugs !!

Awesome !! I'll bet they were paid more than the minimum wage.

Imagine the stench

[NeoConsSuck]

22. Agree.

If it wasn't enough to bankrupt the city, then it wasn't enough. Tough for the residents, but if they elected the politicians that allowed the police to act like gestapos, they deserve to live in a bankrupt city.

[msanthrope]

25. It will be--the hospital and the doctors haven't settled yet, and they tend to be have deeper

pockets than the cops.

[christx30]

7. That money should come

from the personal pensions and bank accounts of the officers involved. Maybe if the cops had a personal stake in not violating someone's constitutional rights, they wouldn't do something like this again.
Right now they only thing at stake is having evidence thrown out of court.

[bvar22]

11. ^^^THIS^^^^

Until the officers themselves are liable for their misconduct,
nothing much will change.

The citizens/taxpayers of the city and county will be forced to pick up the tab for this.

[7962]

9. Certainly hope the cop or cops have been fired. They should be charged. nt

[bpj62]

10. The Dog didn't Alert

There seem to be a new pattern developing when police officers pull someone over, they either say they detected the smell of marijuana and iniate a search or they say that the k-9 alerted them to the presence of drugs somewhere in the vehicle. The plan is full proof because most of the people that they do this to do not have the resources to file a complaint or get an attorney. Most jurisdictions are short on cash and seizures of vehicles provide them with a cash infusion so I guess the figure they will get it right sometime. Regarding this case I hope the hospital loses big time because what they did is nothing short of state sanctioned sexual assault. They did a digital exam and came up with nothing, they x-rayed him and came up with nothing and they gave him and enema and still nothing. At what point does the doctor say enough is enough.

[bvar22]

12. Until the dog can testify onder oath on the stand,

....we only have the word of the dog's handler,
and even THAT is a SUBJECTIVE interpretation of the dog's behavior.

No WAY should this be allowed in court, or as evidence for a Search Warrant,
UNTIL the dog can talk and be held accountable.

[KansDem]

13. $1.6 million?

The cops got off cheap...

[jsr]

14. Yep.

[SkatmanRoth]

15. Dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018556312

[QuestForSense]

17. I hope those cops were fired. The article makes no mention of them.

Which makes me think they weren't. Also, those doctors were co-torturers. I wonder if any were even so much as censured.

[Ilsa]

18. I look forward to reading that he

Was awarded another handsome award from the hospital and those doctors that violated him.

[jmowreader]

19. Not good enough

The cops need to lose the privilege of working for any government agency in the US.

[valerief]

21. Now he has enough money to hire a thug to do the same thing to those cops. nt

[sulphurdunn]

23. These are civil suits.

The people who did this don't care. They aren't paying for anything and won't be punished legally. There is no disincentive for them not to do it again. I can't imagine what the hospital bill was for that abuse, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn the cops got a kickback from it.

[Judi Lynn]

24. Man subject to enemas settles with police

Man subject to enemas settles with police

Local authorities pay $1.6 after 'multiple digital penetrations and three enemas'

Author: By Carma Hassan and Greg Botelho CNN
Published On: Jan 16 2014 04:55:36 PM CST Updated On: Jan 16 2014 05:59:07 PM CST

(CNN) -
A New Mexico man has settled with local authorities for $1.6 million after claiming police forced him to undergo "multiple digital penetrations and three enemas" on an invalid warrant and without finding any of the illicit drugs they were looking for.

David Eckert "feels gratified that the city and county acted quickly, and ... that they recognize his dignity and humanity," his lawyer, Joe Kennedy, said Thursday. "He expects that it won't happen to anyone else ever again."

Hildalgo County, New Mexico, Manager Jose Salazar, the top official in the county involved in the settlement, declined to comment on Thursday. And a CNN call to Deming, New Mexico, police Chief Brandon Gigante was not immediately returned.

Eckert, 54, who sued the county and police departments last year, said that he feels he "got some justice, as I think the settlement shows they were wrong to do what they did to me."

More:
http://www.ksat.com/news/Man-subject-to-enemas-settles-with-police/-/478452/23968066/-/ct9g5dz/-/index.html

[RKP5637]

26. Excellent!!!! n/t

[Th1onein]

27. Didn't they also BILL him for these searches?

I think he ought to have received more, but I'm glad that there are cases still pending against the doctors and the hospital.

[bananas]

28. This was rape and assault under color of authority

The offenders should be imprisoned for life and registered as sex offenders.
Including the judge who issued the search warrant.
There is no excuse for this.

[RandySF]

29. Jesus Christ what is wrong with New Mexico?

Isn't this the same state where troopers shot at a woman and her kids in a van?

[godevil10]

32. Yeah. Lets condem a whole state because

of the actions of a couple of cops and doctors. Sounds about right here.

[Comrade Grumpy]

33. Okay, then, what is wrong with Deming and Hidalgo County?

Why do cops there think they can get away with that crap?

Where's the oversight on that police department?

[24601]

30. All those single-payer government-provided medical procedures, with no co-pays or deductibles and

he's complaining? There's no pleasing some people.

[Baalzamon]

31. Foregone conclusion.

It was obvious from the start this guy was going to never have to work again when civil suits were finished.$1.6 million now, a whole lot more on the way. If he's smart, he will hire a financial advisor to set up a portfolio and live off the dividends for the rest of his life. At 1.6 million, he's already looking at like $6,000 per month if it is set up right. Not bad for having to endure 24 hours of humiliation.