A New Mexico man who was pulled over by police was forced to have anal probes, three enemas, two body X-rays and a colonoscopy because the officers were convinced he was hiding drugs.
Following the various cavity searches, no drugs were found, and now, David Eckert has filed a lawsuit against the police and sheriff's officials in Deming and Hidalgo County.
Eckert was billed thousands of dollars for the "illegal, invasive and painful medical procedures," according to the suit.
Officers stopped Eckert in the Mexican border county of Hidalgo, after he drove through an area without making a complete stop, according to NBC News. The suit stated that police forced Eckert to perform the searches because it looked like Eckert was clenching his buttocks when he got out of the car. Police canines also reportedly picked up the scent of drugs somewhere near the driver's seat.
The officers have maintained that they had reason to conduct the extensive searches. They've denied most of the allegations listed in the lawsuit. One law enforcement official allegedly involved in the event said that Eckert "was known in Hidalgo County to insert drugs into his anal cavity," but this fact has not yet been confirmed and the officer did not offer further details.
Eckert, however, denied those claims and said that he was refused the right to make a phone call from the police station, NBC reported. He added that the warrant issued to search him was made in Hidalgo County, but was no longer applicable once he was taken to a hospital in a different county. According to the suit, a doctor at a hospital nearby said he wouldn't perform the searches because he felt it was violating a certain code of medical ethics. The suit alleged that the search warrant, which was signed by a judge, had expired by the end of the colonoscopy.
