# 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:** 3
**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, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/41 "2012-05-03T04:51:06Z")
> [@mister\_nyx](#): > > Give John Stamos my regards. Will do. Uncle Jesse and I always raise a glass whenever I’ve kicked someone ass in the Pit. [Better luck next time!](http://pbfcomics.com/archive_b/PBF067-Better_Luck.gif) ---
**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, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/42 "2012-05-03T04:57:14Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Will do. Uncle Jesse and I always raise a glass whenever I’ve kicked someone ass in the Pit. > > [Better luck next time!](http://pbfcomics.com/archive_b/PBF067-Better_Luck.gif) Oh. Oh, you think you proved something. Everyone else, help me out. Is this person yet another Doper who is sort of tolerated because everyone feels sorry for them? Am I dealing with SDMBKL or Rand Rover or yet another one of these? ---
**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, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/43 "2012-05-03T05:05:13Z")
> [@mister\_nyx](#): > > Oh. Oh, you think you proved something. > > Everyone else, help me out. Is this person yet another Doper who is sort of tolerated because everyone feels sorry for them? Am I dealing with SDMBKL or Rand Rover or yet another one of these? Oh my, yes. Do let us have this poll. I will put up my posts in the thread against yours. Who has the better of the argument?!? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/44 "2012-05-03T05:05:58Z")
Yes, because the Pit is some sort of contest. And treating people like shit somehow means you’ve won. I have fucking experience with being so vindictive you want to hurt yourself. I also know that certain bodily functions override this. There is no way that guy stayed in there if he were actually free to go. It is far more likely the cops were trying to punish him for being in there and then, since they do it all the time, lied to cover their asses. I mean, we have first hand experience with you in how people who are in the justice system act like assholes. EDIT: And, yes, KG is only tolerated. He says he’s a lawyer, but then treats everyone like shit and expects them to believe him. ---
**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, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/45 "2012-05-03T05:07:51Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Oh my, yes. Do let us have this poll. > > I will put up my posts in the thread against yours. Who has the better of the argument?!? Oh, holy shit. You think winning a poll in the BBQ Pit will validate you? Wow. I know I won’t. You obviously wouldn’t win on the merits of this discussion (or you wouldn’t have broadened it thusly) but I am absolutely sure that you are vastly more palatable to this place than I am. You win. I’ll drink my piss. I was wrong to complain. You are right. I don’t deserve water. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/46 "2012-05-03T05:08:43Z")
Also, I’m looking forward to people now telling me I’m only tolerated. I know. That’s because I stand up for people, and sometimes that hurts the bullies’ widdle feelings. ---
**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, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/47 "2012-05-03T05:12:14Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Yes, because the Pit is some sort of contest. And treating people like shit somehow means you’ve won. > > I have fucking experience with being so vindictive you want to hurt yourself. I also know that certain bodily functions override this. There is no way that guy stayed in there if he were actually free to go. It is far more likely the cops were trying to punish him for being in there and then, since they do it all the time, lied to cover their asses. > > I mean, we have first hand experience with you in how people who are in the justice system act like assholes. > > EDIT: And, yes, KG is only tolerated. He says he’s a lawyer, but then treats everyone like shit and expects them to believe him. No, I concede that you and Kimmy are celebrities in these parts. I’m sucking down my piss and totally regretting my obstinacy. ---
**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, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/48 "2012-05-03T05:13:32Z")
For the record: it is salty. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/49 "2012-05-03T05:55:55Z")
So once a person decides he just doesn’t want to leave the jail, the police just shrug and leave him there? They don’t bring food and water to the cell? I’m pretty sure if there’s no charges against you, if you’re free to go, you actually have to go. You can’t just say “no, actually, it’s nice in here with me and my piss”. And even if they did decide to let you stay for some insane reason, they would ALSO FEED YOU. People have had hunger strikes before, but those tend to end with people forcing them to eat and drink – or, I believe more often, with them breaking the hunger strike themselves. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/50 "2012-05-03T06:25:29Z")
According to the [LA times](http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dea-apology-20120503,0,2310925.story) the DEA has apologized. I still don’t get what the fuck happened. So kid gets - for whatever reason, whether he’s arrested or not, doesn’t matter - taken to the county lockup. And then - what, not a single officer does any sort of thorough checks for five days? All the paperwork gets lost and at no point does anyone say, “Hey, who’s the kid in cell three?” No one even comes and talks to him? The whole story just seems fishy as hell. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/51 "2012-05-03T06:39:30Z")
Actually, it makes more sense to me that this happened because he _didn’t_ get arrested. There was no paper trail to show that he existed within the system – he wasn’t put into a population that got care and feeding as a matter of routine. Essentially, when the agent who stuck him in the locked room left the building, no one else know who he was or why he was there. And prisoners are probably shouting stuff all the time, and everyone would assume that someone else was responsible for this guy and would take care of it. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/52 "2012-05-03T08:10:37Z")
> [@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. Just to be clear, no-one seems to be disputing that he was locked in the cell, free to go or not. Also, he wasn’t even under arrest and wasn’t charged with any crime, so probably not a member of a drug syndicate. Not even a criminal, just someone swept up in a dragnet. There’s also been no evidence presented that he either smuggled any drugs in, or refused to leave. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/53 "2012-05-03T08:24:59Z")
Not one fucking thing about this story makes a lick of sense! 1.The amounts of drugs seized indicate this was a major dealing operation, they must therefore have had surveillance on the place but didn’t know who the sellers were? 2.Nothing about this room he was held in makes sense, including the fact it had no lights. After six hours I’d have been trying my best to kick through the drywall, why didn’t he? 3.They intentionally left a bag of meth in the room?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?! This is by far the strangest element, did they want him to ingest some so he would test positive? So they could claim it was his? WTF was going on here? Final conclusion: They put him in there with the bag of meth hoping he’d take some and or pocket it thinking SCORE! Now they have something to charge him with, who is going to believe a admitted drug user when he claims it was a set up? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/54 "2012-05-03T09:22:13Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Ahem … You rubes will believe anything it seems. Let’s consult the record, shall we? OK, let’s do that. > [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > **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. Cite for the bolded part, please? Your links don’t contain that information, but you state it as tho it were a fact. In fact, you quoted the passage that states that Chong “was placed in a cell for five days without any human contact and was not given food or drink.” Are you claiming that he placed himself in that cell? What information are you basing that claim on? > [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > **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? Cite, please? Again, none of the links you provided makes this claim. Where did you get your information from? > [@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. Where did you read that he refused to go? I didn’t see that in any of the articles linked in this thread. In fact, I find it hard to believe he was free to go, since the AP reports that he was handcuffed. [ > [@](#): > > Entering what he called “survival mode,” and already drinking his own urine, he futilely tried to trigger an overhead fire sprinkler for some water, stacking clothes and a blanket and **swinging his cuffed arms** in an attempt to set it off. ]([http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US\_SUSPECT\_FORGOTTEN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-05-03-04-50-21](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUSPECT_FORGOTTEN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-05-03-04-50-21)) Surely the DEA would be quick to counter such an allegation if it were untrue, wouldn’t they? And why would they have covered his hospital bills if they were not at fault? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/55 "2012-05-03T10:22:17Z")
> [@grude](#): > > 3.They intentionally left a bag of meth in the room?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?! This is by far the strangest element, did they want him to ingest some so he would test positive? So they could claim it was his? WTF was going on here? Did they ? I was under the impression that they just didn’t know it was there at all. Presumably they booked some meth dealers prior without bothering to search them, the dealers took the opportunity to discretely ditch the goods somewhere in the cell, and the ace DEA cops didn’t even sweep the cell before throwing another guy in there. At least that’s how I see it happening. If so, it’s not even shoddy work on the DEA’s part, it’s downright don’t give a flying fuck work. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/56 "2012-05-03T12:05:42Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > According to the [LA times](http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dea-apology-20120503,0,2310925.story) the DEA has apologized. > > I still don’t get what the fuck happened. So kid gets - for whatever reason, whether he’s arrested or not, doesn’t matter - taken to the county lockup. And then - what, not a single officer does any sort of thorough checks for five days? All the paperwork gets lost and at no point does anyone say, “Hey, who’s the kid in cell three?” No one even comes and talks to him? > > The whole story just seems fishy as hell. He wasn’t taken to county lockup. Seven people were, he was not one of them. He was at the regional DEA headquarters. Most police stations and other places that hold prisoners on a temporary basis are not equipped to hold a large number of people. And not equipped to hold any for long. Without knowing how the facility is laid out I would bet he was placed in an area that they do not use often and then there was a miscommunication due to the amount of people involved. We are not talking about a prison where the cells are visible to guards walking by. There are no guards. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/57 "2012-05-03T12:19:24Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Did they ? I was under the impression that they just didn’t know it was there at all. Presumably they booked some meth dealers prior without bothering to search them, the dealers took the opportunity to discretely ditch the goods somewhere in the cell, and the ace DEA cops didn’t even sweep the cell before throwing another guy in there. > > At least that’s how I see it happening. If so, it’s not even shoddy work on the DEA’s part, it’s downright don’t give a flying fuck work. I could swear one of the stories mentioned that the DEA admitted to knowing about the meth in the room. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/58 "2012-05-03T12:20:28Z")
> [@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. How can you walk away when locked in a cell? Why aren’t Charley Manson and OJ walking out of their cells? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/59 "2012-05-03T12:32:07Z")
Chong has filed a [$20 million lawsuit.](http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/03/11516576-student-left-in-cell-for-4-days-files-20m-claim-against-dea?lite) Here’s hoping he wins every cent. ---
**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, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654/60 "2012-05-03T12:57:47Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > OK, let’s do that. > > Cite for the bolded part, please? Your links don’t contain that information, but you state it as tho it were a fact. In fact, you quoted the passage that states that Chong “was placed in a cell for five days without any human contact and was not given food or drink.” Are you claiming that he placed himself in that cell? What information are you basing that claim on? > > Cite, please? Again, none of the links you provided makes this claim. Where did you get your information from? > > Where did you read that he refused to go? I didn’t see that in any of the articles linked in this thread. > > In fact, I find it hard to believe he was free to go, since the AP reports that he was handcuffed. > [url=[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US\_SUSPECT\_FORGOTTEN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-05-03-04-50-21](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUSPECT_FORGOTTEN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-05-03-04-50-21)] > Surely the DEA would be quick to counter such an allegation if it were untrue, wouldn’t they? > > And why would they have covered his hospital bills if they were not at fault? You didn’t even read the Op’s cite: _"He said agents questioned him, and then told him he could go home. One agent even offered him a ride, Chong said. No criminal charges were filed against him._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-dea-one-more-time-ro/620654.md?page=4)