(Deming) – A lawsuit filed on behalf of a Lordsburg man says he was pulled over by Deming Police Department officers on January 2nd for not making a complete stop at a Deming Wal-Mart stop sign, then was taken to a Silver City hospital and forced to undergo multiple body cavity searches for drugs.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by an attorney for David Eckert, those searches included three enemas, two anal probes and a colonoscopy – and authorities found no drugs.
The story was first reported by Albuquerque TV station KOB.
The suit says the searching began because one of the officers was suspicious of Eckert’s posture as he stood outside his car, as though Eckert might be clenching his buttocks.
Deputy District Attorney Daniel Dougherty said that was relevant because Eckert has a reputation among area law enforcement officers for hiding drugs in his anal cavity – a claim Eckert denies.
Dougherty is named in the suit for his alleged role in approving the search warrant, although Dougherty denies approving the warrant Eckert claims allowed officers to search his anal cavity.
Also named in the suit is a doctor who was working at Gila Regional Medical Center that night. According to the suit, a doctor at Mimbres Memorial Hospital in Deming refused to conduct the anal cavity search, calling it “unethical,” so Eckert was transported to Gila Regional in Silver City.
Also named in the suit are several Deming Police Department officers and Hidalgo County Sheriff’s officials and the City of Deming, among others.
Most of those named in the suit have filed responses denying most of the allegations.
Attorney Tony Ortiz, representing the city, said it is his firm’s policy not to comment on any specifics regarding pending litigation; however, he said, he believes the Deming Police Department and the city ultimately will prevail in the suit.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by an attorney for David Eckert, those searches included three enemas, two anal probes and a colonoscopy – and authorities found no drugs.
The story was first reported by Albuquerque TV station KOB.
The suit says the searching began because one of the officers was suspicious of Eckert’s posture as he stood outside his car, as though Eckert might be clenching his buttocks.
Deputy District Attorney Daniel Dougherty said that was relevant because Eckert has a reputation among area law enforcement officers for hiding drugs in his anal cavity – a claim Eckert denies.
Dougherty is named in the suit for his alleged role in approving the search warrant, although Dougherty denies approving the warrant Eckert claims allowed officers to search his anal cavity.
Also named in the suit is a doctor who was working at Gila Regional Medical Center that night. According to the suit, a doctor at Mimbres Memorial Hospital in Deming refused to conduct the anal cavity search, calling it “unethical,” so Eckert was transported to Gila Regional in Silver City.
Also named in the suit are several Deming Police Department officers and Hidalgo County Sheriff’s officials and the City of Deming, among others.
Most of those named in the suit have filed responses denying most of the allegations.
Attorney Tony Ortiz, representing the city, said it is his firm’s policy not to comment on any specifics regarding pending litigation; however, he said, he believes the Deming Police Department and the city ultimately will prevail in the suit.
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