# Let's Pit the DEA...one more time. (RO) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 2, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654 "2012-05-02T16:32:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/21 "2012-05-03T00:00:59Z")
Recreational Outrage - though in this side the systemic failures, stupidity and neglect kind of work against the definition. ---
**Author:** ![mister\_nyx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@mister\_nyx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mister_nyx)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/22 "2012-05-03T00:02:08Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > Recreational Outrage - though in this side the systemic failures, stupidity and neglect kind of work against the definition. Yeah. I guess I’m not about to start an uprising about this but this seems like the sort of thing that everyone should be really actively outraged about. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/23 "2012-05-03T00:35:03Z")
> [@mister\_nyx](#): > > The decision to build a prison in which prisoners are in total isolation and thus such a horrifying thing is possible bespeaks a degree of malice all on its own. It’s not a prison, it was a holding cell. Still no excuse for such epic stoopid. ---
**Author:** ![mister\_nyx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@mister\_nyx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mister_nyx)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/24 "2012-05-03T03:09:45Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > It’s not a prison, it was a holding cell. > > Still no excuse for such epic stoopid. Being relatively law abiding, I’m not clear on all these things. Either way, it’s bizarre to imagine that it would be possible to stash someone in a place where people wouldn’t be in contact with them regularly, right? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/25 "2012-05-03T03:12:14Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > It’s not a prison, it was a holding cell. > > Still no excuse for such epic stoopid. It’s not a tomato, it’s a tamato. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/26 "2012-05-03T03:36:29Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > It’s not a tomato, it’s a tamato. A prison is a large facility where hundreds or thousands of convicted felons serve sentences imposed by the courts. A holding cell is a locked area in a police station or law enforcement office where a handful of criminal suspects (or drunks) are confined before going to an arraignment or hearing. They are completely different things. ---
**Author:** ![mister\_nyx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@mister\_nyx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mister_nyx)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/27 "2012-05-03T03:45:16Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > A prison is a large facility where hundreds or thousands of convicted felons serve sentences imposed by the courts. A holding cell is a locked area in a police station or law enforcement office where a handful of criminal suspects (or drunks) are confined before going to an arraignment or hearing. They are completely different things. Okay but if it’s where they dumped Otis Campbell that makes it even harder to understand how anyone could forget about someone being there. Shouldn’t Barney Fife have noticed him and brought him some water at some point? ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/28 "2012-05-03T03:58:34Z")
Dan’s not here, man. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/29 "2012-05-03T04:00:43Z")
> [@mister\_nyx](#): > > Okay but if it’s where they dumped Otis Campbell that makes it even harder to understand how anyone could forget about someone being there. Shouldn’t Barney Fife have noticed him and brought him some water at some point? Yes indeed. It is baffling. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/30 "2012-05-03T04:12:28Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > It’s not a prison, it was a holding cell. > > Still no excuse for such epic stoopid. And I rather wonder at a holding cell not getting cleaned with some degree of frequency. 4 days? :dubious: I dated a cop for a while, and the holding cells in Va Beach were cleaned daily because they know people are going to mess them up through various means. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/31 "2012-05-03T04:16:14Z")
Ahem … You rubes will believe anything it seems. Let’s consult the record, shall we? [http://www.cbs8.com/story/18025968/suspect-forgotten-in-holding-cell-for-days](http://www.cbs8.com/story/18025968/suspect-forgotten-in-holding-cell-for-days) (hereinafter, “CBS-8”) > [@](#): > > Federal authorities detained the engineering student after an ecstasy raid in University City April 21, where Chong admits he was smoking marijuana with friends. Officials say they seized _ **18,000 ecstasy pills, marijuana, prescription medication, mushrooms, several weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition in the raid.** _ [http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/DEA-Detainee-Found-White-Powdery-Substance-in-Cell-149596435.html](http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/DEA-Detainee-Found-White-Powdery-Substance-in-Cell-149596435.html) (hereinafter, “NBC-SD May 1”) > [@](#): > > He was one of seven people detained after a Drug Enforcement Administration ecstasy raid in University City on April 21, according to a DEA statement. > > “The individual was at the house by his own admission,” the DEA confirmed Monday. > > During the raid, authorities confiscated _ **ecstasy, marijuana, prescription medication, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and a white powdery substance that was described as a synthetic hallucinogen. They also seized numerous weapons including a Russian rifle, handguns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.** _ (Emphasis added in each quote.) This was no pot-smoking party at Alpha Delt. This was a criminal syndicate. [DEA Ignored All My Cries: Student – NBC 7 San Diego](http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/daniel-chong-ucsd-san-diego-dea-149758275.html) (hereinafter, “NBC-SD May 2”) > [@](#): > > He said agents questioned him, and then told him he could go home. One agent even offered him a ride, Chong said. . . . > > But Chong did not go home that night. Instead, he was placed in a cell for five days without any human contact and was not given food or drink. He became oppositional and thought he was going to teach the DEA a lesson by refusing to leave. The DEA ignored him. The cops don’t owe you three hots and cot when they tell you that you’re free to go. And they are not obligated to remove you bodily from the premises; they can just disregard you until you decide to buzz off. NBC-SD May 2 continues: > [@](#): > > Chong said he lost roughly 15 pounds during the time he was alone. His lawyer confirmed that Chong ingested a powdery substance found inside the cell. Later testing revealed the substance was methamphetamine. Speaks for itself, no? By the way, NBC-SD May 1 tells us: > [@](#): > > None [of those arrested] were strip or body cavity searched, the DEA stated. Chong smuggled in the contraband, which was not detected because the mean old DEA figured a strip search could be dispensed with. Since we have lately argued about the indignity of strip searches, it’s hard to hold this against the DEA, isn’t it? By the by, someone up thread claimed that this link, [Discovery Hub - News & Technology](http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20120502/US.Suspect.Forgotten/?cid=hero_media), (hereinafter, “Comcast”) contains a report of the DEA admitted they left methamphetamine in the cell. I see no such account of how it got. This meth just materialized, it seems, in the cell of a person recently picked up on drug raid at a location with a truly prodigious amount of controlled substances. It also seems that Chong isn’t certain why he took the meth. He told Comcast he needed it survive. But he told CBS-8 he took it to stay awake. (How did he know it would keep him awake? How did he know it wasn’t, say, rat poison?) Further acting out was reported by NBC-SD May 2: > [@](#): > > After days of being ignored, Chong said he tried to take his own life by breaking the glass from his spectacles with his teeth and then attempting to carve “Sorry mom,” on his arm. He said nurses also found pieces of glass in his throat, which led him to believe he ingested the pieces purposefully. In an instant, the DEA repented of their mistreatment (NBC-SD May 2): > [@](#): > > He said when employees discovered him in the cell that they looked confused and nervous. A DEA employee rode with him to the hospital, where they paid for Chong’s visit. So, the DEA wanted to abuse him, until they changed their minds, I guess. But, **Kimmy G** , why would he make all this up? > [@](#): > > Daniel Chong, the UC San Diego student who was left in a Drug Enforcement Administration holding cell for nearly five days, has filed a claim asking for $20 million following the incident he called “life-altering.” (NBC-SD May 2) Gosh, your guess is as good as mine! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/32 "2012-05-03T04:20:41Z")
Wow, what a serious beatdown of a RO OP by the facts!:eek:🆒 ---
**Author:** ![mister\_nyx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@mister\_nyx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mister_nyx)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/33 "2012-05-03T04:22:58Z")
So your claim is that he refused to leave, and thus was locked in a cell for days until his kidneys neared failure, drinking his own piss in an attempt to stay alive? And it proves that he was obviously in the wrong, as after being treated in a hospital, he decided to sue to recover damages for his treatment? Yes, seeking justice clearly means he’s a criminal. Gosh, obviously we’re coming from different angles here. Because here in the U.S., someone who had been locked in a jail cell drinking their piss would actually be entitled to sue for damages. And even if they were a counterrevolutionary (or whatever they call it where you’re from) they still wouldn’t deserve that sort of treatment, and they still would be entitled to sue for damages afterwards. Given that the DEA was obviously in the right, why did they pay for his hospital treatment? Since it was just some guy who decided to hang out in a jail cell drinking his piss for a few days to hang out. (Maybe he was trying to recycle the drugs that he was pissing out? Waste not, want not.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/34 "2012-05-03T04:28:10Z")
> [@mister\_nyx](#): > > So your claim is that he refused to leave, and thus was locked in a cell for days until his kidneys neared failure, drinking his own piss in an attempt to stay alive? And it proves that he was obviously in the wrong, as after being treated in a hospital, he decided to sue to recover damages for his treatment? Yes, seeking justice clearly means he’s a criminal. > > Gosh, obviously we’re coming from different angles here. Because here in the U.S., someone who had been locked in a jail cell drinking their piss would actually be entitled to sue for damages. And even if they were a counterrevolutionary (or whatever they call it where you’re from) they still wouldn’t deserve that sort of treatment, and they still would be entitled to sue for damages afterwards. What part of _"he was free to go_" don’t you understand? Yeah, what happened to him was horrible- and 100% his responsibility. He was part of the drug syndicate- _his choice._ He was offered a chance to leave- he refused to go- _his choice._ He choose to take the drug he smuggled in. _His choice._ The only one he should be suing is himself. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/35 "2012-05-03T04:28:57Z")
> [@mister\_nyx](#): > > So your claim is that he refused to leave, and thus was locked in a cell for days until his kidneys neared failure, drinking his own piss in an attempt to stay alive? And it proves that he was obviously in the wrong, as after being treated in a hospital, he decided to sue to recover damages for his treatment? Yes, seeking justice clearly means he’s a criminal. He was allowed to leave. He stuck around and engaged in increasingly self-harmful behavior as an attempt to punish his jailers. Incidentally, this is not particularly unusual behavior among inmates. They don’t want to be there, and you better believe they’re going to make sure you wish they were somewhere else too. ---
**Author:** ![mister\_nyx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@mister\_nyx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mister_nyx)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/36 "2012-05-03T04:34:46Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > He was allowed to leave. He stuck around and engaged in increasingly self-harmful behavior as an attempt to punish his jailers. Incidentally, this is not particularly unusual behavior among inmates. They don’t want to be there, and you better believe they’re going to make sure you wish they were somewhere else too. K. Except I mean if he didn’t want to be there, he could have left, right? I mean you said that, right? So there he was, drinking piss on a lark. What a freaky perve. ---
**Author:** ![mister\_nyx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@mister\_nyx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mister_nyx)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/37 "2012-05-03T04:36:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > What part of _"he was free to go_" don’t you understand? Yeah, what happened to him was horrible- and 100% his responsibility. He was part of the drug syndicate- _his choice._ He was offered a chance to leave- he refused to go- _his choice._ He choose to take the drug he smuggled in. _His choice._ The only one he should be suing is himself. No offense, but the other one sounds like she’s worth talking to. (She? Like the 80s sitcom character?) You’re quite obviously not, so, um, run along, doofus. Let’s let the grownups talk. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/38 "2012-05-03T04:37:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > What part of _"he was free to go_" don’t you understand? Yeah, what happened to him was horrible- and 100% his responsibility. He was part of the drug syndicate- _his choice._ He was offered a chance to leave- he refused to go- _his choice._ He choose to take the drug he smuggled in. _His choice._ The only one he should be suing is himself. So he just sat there for five days and let himself nearly die of dehydration, when he could have walked out at any time? I find that difficult to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/39 "2012-05-03T04:38:30Z")
> [@mister\_nyx](#): > > K. Except I mean if he didn’t want to be there, he could have left, right? I mean you said that, right? So there he was, drinking piss on a lark. What a freaky perve. I figured you would pick up on that. Some people enjoy being vindictive. Some people, mentally ill people to be sure, will be vindictive to the extent that they actually do themselves harm in the process. _See_ the old saw “Cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face,” or **Stoid** ’s zany lawsuit(s) (I don’t mean to pick on **Stoid** , but it is a great example of someone who bankrupted herself to prove that the house really did belong to her—the house belongs to some bank now, I think, and she lost her suit(s) (two to four of them, I recall) (and subsequent appeals). ---
**Author:** ![mister\_nyx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@mister\_nyx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mister_nyx)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/40 "2012-05-03T04:45:11Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > So he just sat there for five days and let himself nearly die of dehydration, when he could have walked out at any time? I find that difficult to believe. Well, he had at least a few cycles of piss to drink. Clearly he was a troublemaker, enjoying the bounty secreted by his kidneys, which were his compatriots in sticking it to the man. They should be tried as co-conspirators. [QUOTE=Kimmy\_Gibbler] I figured you would pick up on that. Some people enjoy being vindictive. Some people, mentally ill people to be sure, will be vindictive to the extent that they actually do themselves harm in the process. See the old saw “Cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face,” or Stoid’s zany lawsuit(s) (I don’t mean to pick on Stoid, but it is a great example of someone who bankrupted herself to prove that the house really did belong to her). [/QUOTE] I don’t know who that is (sorry, I had to Wikipedia to even figure out who you were) but I have been like mildly thirsty at various times and I am sort of biased against believing someone just voluntarily decided to redrink his piss for a few days in prison just on a lark. I mean, maybe it’s just me with my desire for fresh water multiple times per day. But this whole “he chose to spend days drinking his piss rather than getting a fucking glass of water” thing sounds like the sort of ridiculous, asinine bullshit I am used to hearing whenever the cops fuck up. No offense. Give John Stamos my regards. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654.md?page=3)