A New Mexico man is suing the city of Deming and several cops for allegedly forcing him to undergo an anal cavity search, three enemas, and a colonoscopy after a routine traffic stop.
David Eckert filed his lawsuit in August, but local TV station KOB4 published an investigation today with the disturbing allegations from his lawsuit and his medical records.
We also took a look at Eckert's lawsuit, which centers on a Jan. 2, 2013 traffic stop for alleged failure to yield to a stop sign at a Wal-Mart parking lot. A cop asked Eckert to leave his car after he was stopped, according to the lawsuit. That officer claims to have noticed Eckert's "posture to be erect" and that "he kept his legs together," leading to suspicions that he was carrying drugs.
Here is where the alleged nightmare begins. Police got a warrant to search Eckert's anal cavity but didn't get specific permission to use medical procedures to do so, according to the lawsuit.
Eckert was allegedly transferred to the Gila Regional Medical Center in handcuffs, and then given an x-ray. The x-ray was clear, according to the suit. However, a doctor allegedly stuck his finger into Eckert's rectum anyway while he "protested aloud."
Eckert then says he was forced to have three enemas and eventually a colonoscopy at 1 a.m. on Jan. 3, 2013. No drugs were ever found.
"The colonoscopy targeted an area of [Eckert] which is highly personal and private," the suit said. "The colonoscopy was extremely invasive and a total intrusion of personal privacy, especially as it physically penetrated [Eckert's] body."
The suit added, "Throughout the entire of these events, [Eckert] protested and stated he did not want the doctors to examine him."
His suit accuses the police of unreasonable search and seizure and the hospital and doctors of negligence. Two of the police officers involved said they were acting as part of the "Border Drug Task Force," according to the suit. Deming, a city of 14,000, is about 35 miles north of the Mexico border.
We reached out to lawyers for the defendants and will update this post if we hear back.
(Via Mike Riggs)
