The Drug War, the Fourth Amendment, and Anal Cavity Searches in New Mexico

“The Drug War, the Fourth Amendment, and Anal Cavity
Searches in New Mexico,” produced by Paul Feine and Alex
Manning. 8 minutes.

Original release date was July 29, 2014. Original writeup is
below.

On July 28, 2014, Reason TV released “Do You Have It Up
Your Ass?”: Drug Warriors in New Mexico Go Too Far.
Incorporating footage from cameras on the dashboards and lapels of
New Mexico law enforcement officers, the program tells the story of
Timothy Young, a man who was pulled over in Lordsburg, New Mexico,
for a traffic violation in October 2012.

Hidalgo County
deputies looking for drugs searched Young’s truck for more than two
hours. After a K9 deputy claimed that his dog Leo alerted on the
driver’s seat of Young’s truck, deputies obtained a search warrant
to search Young’s body. Deputies then drove Young to the Gila Regional Medical Center, located an
hour north in Silver City, New Mexico. Young was X-rayed and, while
still in handcuffs, subjected to a digital search of his anal
cavity. No drugs were found.

There is more to the story, however. Just three months after the
Young incident, David Eckert was pulled over in front of a Walmart
for failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign in
Deming, a small town about an hour east of Lordsburg. Eckert
was about to begin a 14-hour ordeal. Once again, law enforcement
officers called in the dog, Leo, and once again his trainer claimed
that the dog alerted on the driver’s seat.

Deputies obtained a warrant and brought Eckert to the hospital
in Deming, New Mexico, where a doctor refused to conduct an anal
cavity search, calling it unethical. Undeterred, deputies drove
Eckert an hour north to another hospital, where doctors had agreed
to search Young’s anal cavity. While at the Gila Regional Medical
Center, Eckert was X-rayed, digitally probed, forced to endure
several enemas, and ultimately put under and given a colonoscopy
without his consent. Once again, no drugs were found.

Young and Eckert sued all the parties involved. So far, Young
has been awarded $925,000 from Hidalgo County, and Eckert has been
awarded $1.6 million from Hidalgo County and the city of
Deming.

Approximately 8 minutes. Produced by Paul Feine and Alex
Manning.