Taking The “Drug War” Too Far
By James Donahue
There
is a theory growing in the United States that only people with psychopathic tendencies, moderate or low intellect, and a willingness
to follow orders to the letter are the basic qualifications for police training.
This might explain many of the strange stories of overzealous black-booted thugs wearing guns and badges that
go collectively berserk, excessively beating ordinary citizens over misdemeanor offenses that once resulted in a warning or
at the worst, a summons to appear before a judge.
A gang of police officers smashed in the front door and raided the wrong house not far from where we live about
two years ago. Instead of a drug house, the home was occupied by an elderly couple. The man of the house had just been in
the hospital for heart surgery. Thinking they were the victims of a criminal gang, the man of the house met the officers with
a handgun. Fortunately no shots were fired. Someone was using his or her head and set things right before the situation got
any worse than it was.
What police in Hidalgo
County, New Mexico recently did to 54-year-old David Eckert in a “routine” traffic stop, however, was totally
uncalled for. Because Eckert, a local junk dealer, had a past conviction of drug possession, the officers ordered him out
of his vehicle and conducted a full search with the help of police dog.
When no drugs were found in the truck, the officers put Eckert in handcuffs and took him to a nearby hospital
emergency room and asked the physician on duty to conduct a forcible search of the man’s rectum.
The doctor refused, saying the procedure was unethical. So police
drove Eckert 50 miles to the next nearest hospital. There doctors took x-rays and performed not one but three rectal examinations,
an enema and finally a colonoscopy. No drugs were found. After being held for 13 hours against his will, Eckert was finally
released.
To add insult to injury,
the hospital billed Eckert $6,000.
