Tuesday, November 5, 2013

THIS IS THE USA RIGHT? OR WAR ON DRUGS HORROR STORY

This isn’t the first story like this I’ve read, and the far right fundies who are so worried about the black helicopters and FEMA camps are strangely silent about the real invasions of the civil rights of real people. This isn’t conspiracy theory folks, this is the real freakin’  deal.

This story comes from two sources, The Daily Kos and  Think Progress they match up pretty well. This is a prime example of how the War On Drugs has totally distorted the relationship between the civilians and the folks that supposedly take an oath “to protect and serve.” Traffic stops that used to get you a warning or a citation have become the camel’s nose allowing some police departments to, apparently, do anything they damn please.

And from Penny Lernoux’s books and a dandy little volume called School of the Assassins: Guns, Greed and Globalization there’s good data that the war on drugs was never just about keeping drugs out of the US. That war provided a handy cover to allow support for the covert war against so called “subversion” in Latin America.

The real kick in the teeth were cases where the cops in countries like Argentina who were supposed to be helping the US keep drugs out of the US were actually the drug lords we were fighting against. Damn, you couldn’t tell the players even with a score card and a lot of locals ended up jailed, tortured, disappeared and dead. Find a used copy of Lernoux’s Cry of the People and don’t read it just before lights out. It’s very uncomfortable reading.

The real kicker is that the cops managed to get a search warrant. Now, my knowledge of the chain of command here comes from watching Law and Order and Blue Bloods. Cops have suspicion go to somebody in the DA’s office and the DA goes to a judge. Judge says yay or nay and the warrant goes back to the cops. I’d love to get my hands on that warrant because this is a list of the procedures a man stopped for doing a rolling stop through the sign was forced to undergo, without his consent. In fact over his continued protests.

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.
And guess who is being dunned by the hospital for the bills it isn’t the cops, the DA’s office or the judge. Frankly I’d give the “hospital” the one fingered salute and dare them to take me to collections. And then I'd call every TV, radio station and newspaper in a three state area. 

Either the cops grossly overstepped their bounds or a judge who is so far nameless signed off on a warrant that allowed the cops to do whatever they pleased. Frankly, I believe that everybody from the cops to the DA to the judge should get their asses canned.  And I hope the hospital is part of this lawsuit because they have no business even getting involved. And the impetus for this crap? The PD’s get a share of any resources seized, especially cash. Follow the money it will usually lead you to the truth.


2 comments:

Lisa :-] said...

If you watched the local news video on the affair, they pointed out that the warrant signed by the judge was good in a certain county, but the hospital in that county wouldn't perform the procedures, calling them unethical, so they went to a different hospital in a different county to rape this man. So, they effectively performed all these procedures without a valid warrant. I think someone is going to be in BIG trouble, here...

JACKIE said...

I tend to not watch videos. That's just me. Valid or not it was still rape and there needs to be a whole lot of firing going on.

The war on drugs has really distorted law enforcement. They don't have to prove that the money was going to be used for anything drug related, just that they suspect it. And given the almost universal presence of drugs like coke and pot chances are that some of the bills you're carrying probably have traces on them.