Cops to pay bill for woman's body cavity search

[Liberal_in_LA]

Cops to pay bill for woman's body cavity search


LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — A New Mexico woman who refused to pay a $1,122 hospital bill for a court-appointed body cavity search won a victory Wednesday: Police will foot the bill, The Las Cruces Sun-News reported.

"We're pleased," the woman's lawyer, Michael Lilley, told the newspaper. "It's the right thing to do, and they did it and we're pleased."

The 19-year-old Las Cruces woman wanted Doña Ana County officials to pay the hospital bill she received after undergoing such a search on suspicion she was hiding heroin.

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"The information was very specific, that she was involved in obtaining heroin from Mexico and was going to come back across the border and the method of bringing it into the country, secreting it into the country, was body-packing," Deputy District Attorney James Dickens told the Sun-News. "And so that's why, obviously, they focused on doing a body search."

The woman was searched at Memorial Medical Center, which then billed her for $1,122.

No heroin or any other narcotic was recovered from the exam. The woman was not arrested or charged.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44416054/ns/us_news-weird_news/t/nm-woman-gets-cavity-search-hospital-bill-it/#.Tmjo4OzAWU0

[MADem]

1. That's chutzpah--to cavity search you and then ask you to pay for the privilege!! nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. and chutzpah for the hospital to charge $1000 plus for it.

[Warpy]

7. It probably involved x-rays

because that's the only way to spot condoms full of heroin that are swallowed by the mules and (ideally) go through their systems on this side of the border to be retrieved.

It's extremely risky for the drug mules, one broken condom and s/he is dead.

But this was part of a criminal investigation and I doubt they gave a shit about her health and there's no way she should pay a dime.

[MADem]

12. No, the hospital had to do the work, so the charges are one thing--it's who they billed that I find

outrageous.

The bill should have gone to the requestor of the service, the agency that contracted for it, i.e. the cops... not the...er...victim of it.

[Vehl]

13. true

It makes no sense!. I for one am astonished that the hospital thought it should bill the victim!

[Liberal_in_LA]

14. agreed. n/t

[mainegreen]

2. I would have thought that would be a no-brainer.

:|

[dembotoz]

11. no shit

[ceile]

3. She went through that indignity

then was not even arrested and charged. geez...

[Poll_Blind]

4. You'd hope the police are investigating where the got the supposed "tip" from.

You'd hope, anyway. However, in my readings it seems like informants are usually protected by the police, regardless of whether they give good information or not.

PB

[Arkansas Granny]

6. I would have thought that she could have also gotten some kind of compensation

for her experience. The county needs to be responsible for more than the hospital bill.

[Gin]

8. boy...if they need to make cavity searches....these females must

have big cavities to be worth it crossing the border.....how much heroin can a normal cavity hold?

Putting things in the butt crack is one thing....but this is ????

[Dogtown]

9. Swallowed balloons or condoms.

They can swallow huge numbers and get paid next to nothing.
I imagine free air fair to the US is a common payment.

[Gin]

10. I didn't think a cavity search was an xray....thought it was a

vaginal/rectal exam.....egads...people are worse than anyone.

[Dogtown]

15. A "deep cavity" search

includes the entire intestinal tract. Deeper than they can reach w/ their nasty little fingers.

[TeamsterDem]

16. Even stuff we take for granted ain't so anymore

How the hell could an innocent person be charged for something they were forced to do by the cops? I don't mind the search if they had probable cause, but they gotta pay for it. Unreal.

[Fumesucker]

17. Mr George Orwell to the white courtesy phone please...

Paging Mr George Orwell..