# Traffic Stop Nightmare. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 6, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271 "2013-11-06T20:39:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/1 "2013-11-06T20:39:55Z")
:eek: Wow. I was skeptical when I saw the story on NY Daily News. So I found the local news story. This actually happened in America. I’m not sure who is worse. The cops or the medical professionals that went along with it. This wasn’t even a normal traffic stop. This guy was pulling out of a Walmart parking lot. Rolling stops are pretty common if theres an obvious break in traffic. What confuses me is the extreme tests. Even if the guy was hiding drugs they’d be easily found with the x-ray and finger probe. All that other stuff was just sadist and spiteful. [Local Story.](http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3209305.shtml?cat=500#.Unqm8uJRFAE) > **[Lawsuit: Traffic stop resulted in 14-hour anal cavity search for drugs](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2488054/Routine-traffic-stop-results-14-hour-anal-cavity-search-including-enemas-COLONOSCOPY.html)** > > David Eckert was pulled over as he was pulled out of the Walmart in Deming, New Mexico. Officers say he failed to make a complete stop at a stop sign. > [@](#): > > A review of medical records, police reports and a federal lawsuit show deputies with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, police officers with the City of Deming and medical professionals at the Gila Regional Medical Center made some questionable decisions. > > The incident began January 2, 2013 after David Eckert finished shopping at the Wal-Mart in Deming. According to a federal lawsuit, Eckert didn’t make a complete stop at a stop sign coming out of the parking lot and was immediately stopped by law enforcement. > > Eckert’s attorney, Shannon Kennedy, said in an interview with KOB that after law enforcement asked him to step out of the vehicle, he appeared to be clenching his buttocks. Law enforcement thought that was probable cause to suspect that Eckert was hiding narcotics in his anal cavity. While officers detained Eckert, they secured a search warrant from a judge that allowed for an anal cavity search. > > The lawsuit claims that Deming Police tried taking Eckert to an emergency room in Deming, but a doctor there refused to perform the anal cavity search citing it was “unethical.” > > But physicians at the Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City agreed to perform the procedure and a few hours later, Eckert was admitted. > > What Happened > > While there, Eckert was subjected to repeated and humiliating forced medical procedures. A review of Eckert’s medical records, which he released to KOB, and details in the lawsuit show the following happened: > > 1. Eckert’s abdominal area was x-rayed; no narcotics were found. > > 2. Doctors then performed an exam of Eckert’s anus with their fingers; no narcotics were found. > > 3. Doctors performed a second exam of Eckert’s anus with their fingers; no narcotics were found. > > 4. Doctors penetrated Eckert’s anus to insert an enema. Eckert was forced to defecate in front of doctors and police officers. Eckert watched as doctors searched his stool. No narcotics were found. > > 5. Doctors penetrated Eckert’s anus to insert an enema a second time. Eckert was forced to defecate in front of doctors and police officers. Eckert watched as doctors searched his stool. No narcotics were found. > > 6. Doctors penetrated Eckert’s anus to insert an enema a third time. Eckert was forced to defecate in front of doctors and police officers. Eckert watched as doctors searched his stool. No narcotics were found. > > 7. Doctors then x-rayed Eckert again; no narcotics were found. > > 8. Doctors prepared Eckert for surgery, sedated him, and then performed a colonoscopy where a scope with a camera was inserted into Eckert’s anus, rectum, colon, and large intestines. No narcotics were found. > > Throughout this ordeal, Eckert protested and never gave doctors at the Gila Regional Medical Center consent to perform any of these medical procedures. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/2 "2013-11-06T20:44:07Z")
Every. Single. Person. Involved. Should lose their jobs and have their asses sued off. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/3 "2013-11-06T20:49:03Z")
This morning’s [thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=707091) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/4 "2013-11-06T20:52:00Z")
This is different from the pit thread. I was hoping we could calmly discuss it. There are some significant issues with medical ethics to consider. Why would doctors even do this for the cops? The first ER doctor refused and they went to a second hospital. I would hope more than lawsuits come from this. These doctors and nurses need a review by their medical boards. This guy was given an anesthetic against his consent. This case could cost some people their medical licenses. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/5 "2013-11-06T20:52:44Z")
And the hospital billed him for all those procedures and has threatened to take him to collections if he doesn’t pay. Crazy! It’s like everyone involved wants to get sued for millions of dollars. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/6 "2013-11-06T21:10:14Z")
I hope he gets millions. I can’t imagine a worse abuse of power. What were they thinking? ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/7 "2013-11-06T21:28:34Z")
Apparently it’s happened twice and the same drug dog misalerted in both instances. [http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s3210356.shtml#.Unq0Zvmxd8H](http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s3210356.shtml#.Unq0Zvmxd8H) ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/8 "2013-11-06T21:30:53Z")
Incredible, maybe there is a lot more on why they suspected he had drugs. At least doctors were involved instead of the anal probing being done on the side of the road. That has happened too. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/9 "2013-11-06T21:47:32Z")
I just posted this in the pit thread, but for the sake of conversation - Kevin Underhill at Lowering the Bar thinks there’s problems (I mean, _more_ problems) with the warrent: > **[Do NOT Clench Your Buttocks in Deming, New Mexico](https://www.loweringthebar.net/2013/11/do-not-clench-your-buttocks-in-deming-new-mexico.html)** > > Why not, you ask? Because it may be interpreted as probable cause to conduct an anal-cavity search. Or six. According to this KOB News report, police in Deming, New Mexico, and some doctors they co… > [@](#): > > I guess he should be thankful they didn’t dissect him. I mean, they had a warrant. > > But about that warrant… It was issued in Luna County. But GRMC is in Silver City, New Mexico. Which is in Grant County. In which whoever issued this warrant has no authority. Even if they had not taken their victim across the county line, the warrant expired at 10 p.m. The records show that the colonoscopy started three hours later. Horrifying enough that they were still going hours and hours later, but they were also doing so illegally, even assuming there had been probable cause—which, remember, they derived from the clenching of buttocks by someone who rolled through a stop sign. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/10 "2013-11-06T21:51:06Z")
Ah, government. Ain’t it wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/11 "2013-11-06T22:13:27Z")
It took me forever to figure out what caused all this uproar, but I think I finally understand. It’s that they didn’t kisss him afterwards, right? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/12 "2013-11-06T22:27:39Z")
The [4th Amendment](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) restricts searches like this unless there is probable cause for these actions. There are news reports that the search was conducted outside the judge’s jurisdiction and the warrant had expired. Everybody involved is in serious trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/13 "2013-11-06T22:43:59Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > This actually happened in America. Strictly speaking only. It was New Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/14 "2013-11-06T22:46:51Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The [4th Amendment](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) restricts searches like this unless there is probable cause for these actions. > > There are news reports that the search was conducted outside the judge’s jurisdiction and the warrant had expired. > > Everybody involved is in serious trouble. I hope so, all the way up to the chief of police and county sheriff. Sometimes in these cases of wrongful action by police we will eventually be treated to some self-serving “explanation” of why the action was justified. In this case I can’t imagine anything they could say that wouldn’t just make matters worse, except “we can’t comment on an ongoing investigation.” Oh, and I would like to say that this sort of thing, by itself, reflects everything that is wrong with the “war” on (some) drugs. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/15 "2013-11-06T22:50:20Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > Ah, government. Ain’t it wonderful. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/16 "2013-11-06T23:02:52Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > Ah, government. Ain’t it wonderful. So…it’s your hope that we can privatize police services in our country? Maybe have private militias just patrol? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/17 "2013-11-06T23:28:59Z")
Search warrants are very specific. Sometimes they even restrict what can be searched. They have time limits. I just can’t understand why a judge would sign a warrant for an invasive body cavity search on such flimsy evidence. No drugs found in the car. The x-ray was enough to confirm the guy hadn’t swallowed a balloon with drugs. They just went way, way beyond any reasonable search. ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/18 "2013-11-07T00:03:16Z")
The first hospital the doctors took the man to recognized that the search was unethical and refused to comply. The police then took the man to the hospital in question where they performed the above tests. The first doctor is willing to testify on behalf of the defense. It’s terrible what happened to Eckert. In this case heads will roll. What possible justification is there for repeated enemas? When has a colonoscopy every been ordered to search for drugs? ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/19 "2013-11-07T00:05:04Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Strictly speaking only. It was New Mexico. Good thing it wasn’t Old Mexico, then they’d really get nasty. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271/20 "2013-11-07T00:05:17Z")
This story is very disturbing just on the surface, but note that the incident happened more than 10 months ago and it is just now making the national news. 10 months. That is astounding to me. I wonder if there were any efforts made to pay the victim off. If this were a TV or movie, then the victim wouldn’t have lasted for ten months. Normally these kinds of stories bother me, but this one is beyond the pale. If this happened to one person, I am pretty doggone sure it has happened to others. Is this kind of abuse actually increasing in probability, or is it an artifact of ubiquitous news coverage? If the latter, I would have expected a swifter reporting of this crime (and a crime it is most certainly, if the facts are as they are presented). Gosh, I do hope this man gets true justice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-stop-nightmare/673271.md?page=2)