What Do You Think?

[ronnybailey820]

I wonder how many other people get "forgotten about" that we never hear about. I could maybe understand an over night lockup with the confusion of multiple arrests/detaining a shift change but for several days? What about his friends, wouldn't they be wondering what happened to him and filing reports? Kind of have to wonder if it was really a mistake or some government monkey proving that the government bullies can do whatever they want.

The article also said, "Mr Chong also ingested a white powder DEA agents said was left in the cell accidentally and later identified as methamphetamine."

How does an agency "accidentally leave" methamphetamine in a holding cell? Unless they were planning on saying the drugs were really his and place a fake drug charge against him. This would also explain the lack of video cameras in the cell. The DEA says the cell had been cleaned when they put the person in but found the drugs when they took him out. Having an active camera would prove otherwise.

Regardless of who did what it seems that contrary to departments claim of high standards and this being an isolated case, that there seems to be a lot of "forgetfulness" and a lot of "accidents" happening in the new police order.

Remember this is the same federal government that wants to be in charge and control all aspects of our lives. If mistakes like this (which will probably get blamed on a "computer glitch" to cover up that the government's actions), what kinds of "glitches" do you think will happen to us when they manage to get control of all our data and personal information?


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/drug-police-apologise-after-detaining-student-apparently-forgetting-he-was-locked-in-a-cell/story-e6frg6so-1226345372777?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAustralianTheWorld+%28The+Australian+%7C+The+World+News%29

Drug police apologise after detaining student, apparently forgetting he was locked in a cell

From: AP May 03, 2012

THE Drug Enforcement Administration has issued an apology to a California student who was picked up during a drug raid and left in a holding cell for four days without food, water or access to a toilet.

DEA San Diego Acting Special Agent-In-Charge William Sherman said in a statement that he was troubled by the treatment of Daniel Chong and extended his "deepest apologies" to him.

The agency is investigating how its agents forgot about Mr Chong.

Mr Chong, 23, was never arrested, was not going to be charged with a crime and should have been released, said a law enforcement official who was briefed on the DEA case and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The engineering student at the University of California, San Diego, told U-T San Diego that he drank his own urine to survive and that he bit into his glasses to break them and tried to use a shard to scratch Sorry Mom into his arm.

His lawyer Eugene Iredale said Mr Chong went to his friend's house on April 20 to get high and fell asleep. Agents stormed in at 9 am the next day and swept him up as one of nine suspects in a raid that netted 18,000 ecstasy pills, other drugs and weapons.

He was questioned for four hours and then told that he would be released, Mr Iredale told The Associated Press. Mr Chong was handcuffed and placed back in a holding cell.

He remained in the 1.5-by-3-metre cell from April 21 until April 25, when he was taken out on a gurney by paramedics.

"He couldn't fully stretch out his arms," Mr Iredale said. "There was no restroom facilities, no water, no food."

The only view out was through a tiny peephole in the solid door. He could hear the muffled voices of agents and the sound of the door of the next cell being opened and closed. He kicked and screamed as loud as he could.

At one point, he ripped his clothing and shoved a shred of it under the door, hoping someone would spot it and rescue him, his lawyer said. He tried to dig through the walls with his handcuffed hands to get water to come out, Mr Iredale said. He ripped away foam from the wall.

"I had to recycle my own urine," Mr Chong said. "I had to do what I had to do to survive."

After three days, he began to hallucinate, Mr Iredale said. The pain was so intense that he bit into his glasses and swallowed a shard, cutting his esophagus. He took the broken bits and started carving into his arm but stopped after the S, Mr Iredale said. His lawyer believes he was thinking of killing himself.

During the last two days, the lights went out and he spent the time in darkness.

Mr Chong also ingested a white powder DEA agents said was left in the cell accidentally and later identified as methamphetamine.

When he was found on April 25, paramedics took him to a hospital where he was treated for cramps, dehydration, a perforated esophagus and kidney failure, his lawyer said. He spent three days in intensive care and five total at the hospital before leaving on Sunday.

"The DEA's answer to this is: 'Oh, we forgot about him. I'm sorry,"' Mr Iredale said. "He nearly died. If he had been there another 12 to 24 hours he probably would have died."

The top DEA agent in San Diego says the event is not indicative of the high standards to which he holds his employees. He said he has personally ordered an extensive review of his office's policies and procedures.

Mr Iredale said he plans to file a claim against the federal government and, if it is denied, he will proceed with filing a federal lawsuit.

[ronnybailey820]

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/04/11527375-students-ordeal-how-was-daniel-chong-lost-in-dea-detention?lite


Student's ordeal: How was Daniel Chong lost in DEA detention?


By Kari Huus, msnbc.com
2012/05/04


So far, the facts of the case are not in dispute: College student Daniel Chong was picked up by federal agents during a raid on a party in the San Diego area where there were illegal drugs, and after questioning he was left locked up in a holding cell with no water, food or access to a toilet for nearly five days.

The mystery is the reason for the nearly fatal treatment. How could the federal Drug Enforcement Administration misplace a person in custody? Does it represent one serious mistake or a systems failure?

"It’s just incredible," said George Kirkham, professor of criminology and criminal justice at Florida State University. "It’s in the genre of a parent locking a child in a car in 100-degree heat … And this is a major federal agency, not a Podunk sheriff’s operation out beyond Yuma."

Chong, a 23-year-old student at the University of California-San Diego, was taken into custody with eight others during a DEA raid on April 21 of a "suspected MDMA distribution operation." Chong said he had gone to the house to get high with his friends.

After processing and questioning the nine young men, "seven suspects were brought to county detention … one was released and the individual in question (Chong) was accidentally left in one of the cells," according to a statement from the DEA.

Chong said he could hear agents outside his cell, but no one could hear his cries, according to an NBCSanDiego.com/Associated Press report. He said that after 48 hours, he started hallucinating, and that to survive, he drank his own urine. After he was "found" in the cell, Chong spent three days in intensive care at a hospital, according to the report.

Chong’s case is extreme, and the DEA issued an apology Wednesday.

"I am deeply troubled by the incident that occurred here last week," said DEA San Diego acting special agent-in-charge William R. Sherman. "I extend my deepest apologies to the young man and want to express that this event is not indicative of the high standards that I hold my employees to. I have personally ordered an extensive review of our policies and procedures."

DEA would not discuss the case beyond what was said in the statement.

"The DEA rightfully put out a pretty forceful apology and said they will review procedures … and that is appropriate," said Kevin Sabet, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Florida and a former senior policy adviser to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. "This was an extraordinary situation and, as far as we know, an isolated incident."

Symptom of systemic problem?

But organizations advocating the reform of drug laws say that the problem is a symptom of the system of the war on drugs.

"Not that (Chong’s case) is typical, but that it is an example of what happens when you are arresting millions of people a year and putting them behind bars where all sorts of terrible things happen," said Ethan Nadelman, executive director and founder of the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates alternatives to the criminalization of drugs.

According to the Drug Policy Alliance, the number of people behind bars for drug law violations rose from 50,000 in 1980 to more than a half of a million today — a 1,100-percent increase. The group said that in 2008, more than 800,000 people were arrested for marijuana alone — nearly 90 percent for simple possession.

"The system is unable to meet its basic responsibilities with respect to the people we arrest and incarcerate because there are just too many of them," said David Borden, executive director of StoptheDrugWar.org, which advocates for regulation of drugs instead of prohibition. "There’s a general devolution of standards from the sheer volume."

Arrest for marijuana possession in April 2003 had fatal consequences for Jonathan Magbie, 27, a first-time offender in Washington, D.C. Magbie, who was quadriplegic, was riding with his cousin when they were pulled over by police, who found some marijuana and a gun in his pockets. In September 2004, a judge sentenced Magbie to 10 days in jail for the pot, according to a Washington Post report. Magbie needed a respirator at night, but the jail infirmary didn't have one. He died four days into his 10-day sentence.



The death led to a substantial settlement for Magbie’s mother and changes in the way that the District of Columbia screened inmates with medical problems and disabilities, the report said.

"A typical characterization from authorities when things go wrong is that it was unacceptable what happened, but the rare exception," said Borden. "In my opinion this misses the central point. In the past few decades we have escalated the drug war and the criminal justice system generally, to the point where we are running huge numbers of people through it, the system becoming incapable of reliably carrying out its basic responsibilities as a result."

The DEA said that in the April 21 raid that led to Chong’s arrest, it had seized 18,000 MDMA, or ecstasy, pills as well as marijuana, prescription medications and hallucinogenic mushrooms, according to a statement. Agents also reported seizing a Russian M91/30 rifle, a Glock 17 handgun, and a Beretta 92fs handgun, along with thousands of rounds of ammunition.

"The individual in question was at the house, by his own admission, to get high with his friends," the statement said.

Chong was not charged with a crime. With his lawyer, Chong announced that he was filing a claim for $20 million against the federal government over the incident.

[ronnybailey820]

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/daniel-chong-ucsd-san-diego-dea-149758275.html


DEA Ignored All My Cries: Student
Senator Barbara Boxer and Congressman Darrell Issa ask for further investigation Wednesday
By Sarah Grieco and Rory Devine | Thursday, May 3, 2012 |

Source: DEA Ignored All My Cries: Student | NBC San Diego


Daniel Chong, the UC San Diego student who was left in a Drug Enforcement Administration holding cell for nearly five days, has filed a claim asking for $20 million following the incident he called "life-altering."

The 23-year-old spoke with NBCSanDiego and said he was increasingly worried throughout the days he spent in a 5 ft. by 10 ft. cell, where he could not spread his arms out wide.

“They never came back, ignored all my cries and I still don’t know what happened,” he said. “I’m not sure how they could forget me.”

As NBCSanDiego was first to report Saturday, the DEA confirmed its agents were investigating an incident in which a suspect, arrested Saturday, April 21, was detained at their office for several days and allegedly forgotten about.

Chong's lawyers filed the claim on Wednesday, May 2 and also asked the DEA provide evidence pertaining to the incident.

Chong said he was at a friend’s house in University City celebrating 4/20, a day many marijuana users set aside to smoke, when agents came inside and raided the residence. Chong was then taken to the DEA office in Kearny Mesa.

He said agents questioned him, and then told him he could go home. One agent even offered him a ride, Chong said. No criminal charges were filed against him.

But Chong did not go home that night. Instead, he was placed in a cell for five days without any human contact and was not given food or drink. In his desperation, he said he was forced to drink his own urine.

“I had to do what I had to do to survive….I hallucinated by the third day,” Chong said. “I was completely insane.”

Chong said he lost roughly 15 pounds during the time he was alone. His lawyer confirmed that Chong ingested a powdery substance found inside the cell. Later testing revealed the substance was methamphetamine.

After days of being ignored, Chong said he tried to take his own life by breaking the glass from his spectacles with his teeth and then attempting to carve “Sorry mom,” on his arm. He said nurses also found pieces of glass in his throat, which led him to believe he ingested the pieces purposefully.


Chong said he could hear DEA employees and people in neighboring cells. He screamed to let them know he was there, but no one replied. He kicked the door, but no one came to get him.
By the time DEA officers found Chong in his cell Wednesday morning Chong was completely incoherent, said Iredale.

“I didn’t think I would come out,” Chong said.

He said when employees discovered him in the cell that they looked confused and nervous. A DEA employee rode with him to the hospital, where they paid for Chong’s visit.

He spent three days in the intensive care unit at Sharp Hospital and his kidneys were close to failing.

Chong and his lawyer spoke to the media on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the claim they will file with the federal court system on Wednesday.

“He was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” said his lawyer Gene Iredale, who compared Chong’s experience to the torture suffered by inmates at in the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, Iraq

The DEA has not apologized to Chong, said Iredale.

The incident also caused Chong to miss his midterms at UCSD. He said he does not know if he will return to school, as his perspective on life has changed since his isolation.

San Diego defense attorney Gretchen Von Helms said the victim could get millions if he files a lawsuit.

"In all my years of practice I've never heard of the DEA or any Federal government employee simply forgetting about someone that they have in their care," she said.

"There has to be repercussions if people do not follow the safety and the care when they have a human being in their custody."

The Drug Enforcement Administration has issued an apology to Chong.

DEA San Diego Acting Special Agent-In-Charge William R. Sherman says in a statement Wednesday that he was troubled by the treatment of Daniel Chong and extends his "deepest apologies" to him.

Sherman says the event is not indicative of the high standards to which he holds his employees. He says he has personally ordered an extensive review of his office's policies and procedures.

The DEA says it is investigating why he was not released. US Senator Barbara Boxer and Congressman Darrell Issa each asked for further investigation Wednesday.