cajuncocoa
11-19-2013, 12:45 PM
By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
I’m no Pollyanna. Too often life can be, in the words of Thomas Hobbes (http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/nature/hobbes-quotes.html), solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.
But a story out of Deming, N.M., earlier this month about David Eckert staggers the imagination, makes one ponder the erosion of civil liberties and provokes — without a hint of irony in these sardonic times — the question: How can something like this happen in America?
The details (http://newmexico.watchdog.org/19777/withering-rights-will-american-outrage-turn-back-ongoing-assualt-on-civil-liberties/) are disgusting but necessary to recap:
The 63-year-old Eckert, a Lordsburg resident, says police pulled him over and accused of failing to make a complete stop as he tried to leave a Deming Walmart.
Eckert says police told him to step out of his vehicle. When he did, police suspected he was clenching his buttocks. Police believed Eckert was carrying narcotics in his anal cavity and sought a search warrant.
Eckert filed lawsuit, claiming police took him to an emergency room in Deming to perform a cavity search. To his credit, the doctor there refused, calling it “unethical.”
Undeterred, police drove Eckert to neighboring Grant County. At the Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City Eckert was forced to undergo X-rays, two digital rectal exams and three enemas. Police compelled him to defecate in front of them and the doctors. Against his consent, Eckert was sedated and underwent a colonoscopy.
No drugs were found.
Eckert , by the way, was charged $6,000 for the colonoscopy.
“This is like something out of a science fiction film, anal probing by government officials and public employees,” Eckert’s attorney, Shannon Kennedy, told KOB-TV (http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3209305.shtml?cat=500#.UoUmUhXn-M9).
Eckert is seeking $1 million in punitive damages (http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/11/05/man-seeks-millions-after-nm-police-force-colonoscopy-in-drug-search)from the law enforcement and medical personnel involved.
Let’s hope the outrageous details of these allegations will draw attention to the problems caused by the deterioration of civil liberties in our country. Two similar cases have been reported on the border.
Just a few days ago, New Mexico made national headlines — again, for all the wrong reasons — after a woman in Taos drove away from state police after a traffic stop (http://abcnews.go.com/US/minivan-stop-ends-shoots-fired-high-speed-chase/story?id=20912206). Shots were fired at her minivan, filled with five children. The police have launched an internal investigation.
The woman sure seems to have acted stupidly, but did the incident warrant the shooting?
Then there are questions about home invasions.
Once upon a time we took it for granted our home was our castle. But a quick Internet search turns out repeated cases of no-knock assaults (http://www.cato.org/raidmap)on people’s houses, which too many times lead to shooting deaths of homeowners or household pets in the accompanying confusion and chaos.
In his book “Rise Of The Warrior Cop (http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610392116),” journalist and author Radley Balko documents how relentless policies calling for a “war” on this or “zero-tolerance” for that has escalated tensions — to the point in which individual rights are smothered.
It’s not just law enforcement. We’ve seen overreactions from public school officials to what a student says or wears to class. You may recall the story of the 7-year-old getting suspended (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/student-suspended-for-pop-tart-gun_n_2903500.html)for taking a bite out a Pop-Tart, noticing it resembled the outline of a gun and waving it.
A little more than a week ago the Albuquerque City Council approved an ordinance (http://www.abqjournal.com/294653/news/city-council-oks-seizing-cars-used-in-prostitution-crime.html)allowing police officers to seize any motor vehicle they believe to be used in a prostitution crime. Not after a conviction, mind you, but merely after an arrest.
Some may say, “Well, they seize vehicles after a DWI arrest.” But taking a car from somebody who flunks a sobriety test is one thing. After all, there’s a likelihood an impaired driver may use it as a weapon to kill others. But what does soliciting a hooker have to do with someone’s car, especially when lawyers can tell you about the relatively low rate of conviction in solicitation cases.
But the ordinance sailed through on an 8-1 vote, and there hasn’t been much outcry in the Duke City, which may indicate we are becoming more inured to such predation on individual rights.
I know we don’t live in Mayberry, but is it too much to ask for authorities to act more like Andy Taylor, to use common sense and employ heavy-handed tactics only as a last resort?
Instead, it seems we’re living in a world filled with Barney Fifes. Only nowadays, Barney’s on steroids and he’s armed to the teeth.
http://watchdog.org/116683/nm-civil-liberties-2/
I’m no Pollyanna. Too often life can be, in the words of Thomas Hobbes (http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/nature/hobbes-quotes.html), solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.
But a story out of Deming, N.M., earlier this month about David Eckert staggers the imagination, makes one ponder the erosion of civil liberties and provokes — without a hint of irony in these sardonic times — the question: How can something like this happen in America?
The details (http://newmexico.watchdog.org/19777/withering-rights-will-american-outrage-turn-back-ongoing-assualt-on-civil-liberties/) are disgusting but necessary to recap:
The 63-year-old Eckert, a Lordsburg resident, says police pulled him over and accused of failing to make a complete stop as he tried to leave a Deming Walmart.
Eckert says police told him to step out of his vehicle. When he did, police suspected he was clenching his buttocks. Police believed Eckert was carrying narcotics in his anal cavity and sought a search warrant.
Eckert filed lawsuit, claiming police took him to an emergency room in Deming to perform a cavity search. To his credit, the doctor there refused, calling it “unethical.”
Undeterred, police drove Eckert to neighboring Grant County. At the Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City Eckert was forced to undergo X-rays, two digital rectal exams and three enemas. Police compelled him to defecate in front of them and the doctors. Against his consent, Eckert was sedated and underwent a colonoscopy.
No drugs were found.
Eckert , by the way, was charged $6,000 for the colonoscopy.
“This is like something out of a science fiction film, anal probing by government officials and public employees,” Eckert’s attorney, Shannon Kennedy, told KOB-TV (http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3209305.shtml?cat=500#.UoUmUhXn-M9).
Eckert is seeking $1 million in punitive damages (http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/11/05/man-seeks-millions-after-nm-police-force-colonoscopy-in-drug-search)from the law enforcement and medical personnel involved.
Let’s hope the outrageous details of these allegations will draw attention to the problems caused by the deterioration of civil liberties in our country. Two similar cases have been reported on the border.
Just a few days ago, New Mexico made national headlines — again, for all the wrong reasons — after a woman in Taos drove away from state police after a traffic stop (http://abcnews.go.com/US/minivan-stop-ends-shoots-fired-high-speed-chase/story?id=20912206). Shots were fired at her minivan, filled with five children. The police have launched an internal investigation.
The woman sure seems to have acted stupidly, but did the incident warrant the shooting?
Then there are questions about home invasions.
Once upon a time we took it for granted our home was our castle. But a quick Internet search turns out repeated cases of no-knock assaults (http://www.cato.org/raidmap)on people’s houses, which too many times lead to shooting deaths of homeowners or household pets in the accompanying confusion and chaos.
In his book “Rise Of The Warrior Cop (http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610392116),” journalist and author Radley Balko documents how relentless policies calling for a “war” on this or “zero-tolerance” for that has escalated tensions — to the point in which individual rights are smothered.
It’s not just law enforcement. We’ve seen overreactions from public school officials to what a student says or wears to class. You may recall the story of the 7-year-old getting suspended (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/student-suspended-for-pop-tart-gun_n_2903500.html)for taking a bite out a Pop-Tart, noticing it resembled the outline of a gun and waving it.
A little more than a week ago the Albuquerque City Council approved an ordinance (http://www.abqjournal.com/294653/news/city-council-oks-seizing-cars-used-in-prostitution-crime.html)allowing police officers to seize any motor vehicle they believe to be used in a prostitution crime. Not after a conviction, mind you, but merely after an arrest.
Some may say, “Well, they seize vehicles after a DWI arrest.” But taking a car from somebody who flunks a sobriety test is one thing. After all, there’s a likelihood an impaired driver may use it as a weapon to kill others. But what does soliciting a hooker have to do with someone’s car, especially when lawyers can tell you about the relatively low rate of conviction in solicitation cases.
But the ordinance sailed through on an 8-1 vote, and there hasn’t been much outcry in the Duke City, which may indicate we are becoming more inured to such predation on individual rights.
I know we don’t live in Mayberry, but is it too much to ask for authorities to act more like Andy Taylor, to use common sense and employ heavy-handed tactics only as a last resort?
Instead, it seems we’re living in a world filled with Barney Fifes. Only nowadays, Barney’s on steroids and he’s armed to the teeth.
http://watchdog.org/116683/nm-civil-liberties-2/