Protecting your freedom, one violation of freedom at a time

[The Supreme Canuck]

Seriously?

The ACLU is representing a New Mexico woman in her fifties who was subjected by federal agents to a two-handed (!) vaginal and anal examination, an involuntary X-ray and CAT scan, and was forced to defecate in front of strangers. The woman was suspected of being in possession of drugs, on the basis of a drug-dog alert at the Juarez/El Paso border-crossing. No drugs were found. The federal agents -- it's not clear what agency they were with -- did not obtain a warrant. The doctors at University Medical Center in El Paso performed the procedures without the victim's consent, including the CT scan, which subjects people to a high dose of potentially harmful radiation.

Warrantless sexual violation and CT scan. Apparently that's a thing that can happen in the Land Of The Free.

Link

[Cyborg Girl]

I don't know about you, but I suspect that this was about the agents having their sadistic "fun" at her expense, not about actually doing their job. Law enforcement officers are unfortunately only human, and some of them will become bastards if you give them too much power.

I do hope that some heads roll in this case. But I don't have much hope about stricter limits being set on these people.

Edit: I do wonder if the agents could be taken to court on sexual assault charges. Seriously.

[Rommie]

Well I do know that when you're at a US border the agents there can make you strip naked without a warrant- that's a pre-9/11 measure actually, as I remember reading an article about it back then (of course if you look at the stats brown people are ordered to do so way more often). You really do lose a lot of your rights when entering at the border.

Can't say I've read about the other stuff happening before though, so not sure about the details there.

[SciFiFisher]

She might be able to sue the hospital for performing the examinations without her consent. In the absence of a warrant they are not covered.

Disclaimer: I am not an attorney. But I did stay in a Holiday Inn once.