Thread: Across The Nation Randomly Pulled Over, Asked For Blood & Saliva Samples

Across The Nation Randomly Pulled Over, Asked For Blood & Saliva Samples

8 hours ago | Politics, US | Posted by Kristin Tate

• December 19, 2013

As we reported last month, random drivers in Fort Worth, Texas were asked for breath, saliva, and blood samples by police officers. The drivers were stopped and asked for such samples even though they violated no traffic laws.
The stops were done in the name of “government research,” to figure out how many people were driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) claimed the study was “voluntary,” but many of the individuals who were pulled over told NBC News that they felt forced to give over samples.
It has now been revealed that the controversial program took place in over 60 communities across the county. The “surveys” cost $7.9 million this year alone.
The checkpoints are operated by armed cops, most of whom do not tell drivers that the tests are voluntary. It is easy to surmise, then, that many drivers feel pressured to give over samples or simply assume that they are mandatory.
Attorney Rory Ellinger pointed out, “To the average person, all the authority and prosecutorial demeanor of an officer directing you to pull over amounts to an order, not a voluntary act.”
Kim Cope of Fort Worth, Texas, was one of the individuals pulled over. She claims that although officials did not explicitly force her to park and give a Breathalyzer, she felt as though she had no choice. She said, “I gestured to the guy in front that I just wanted to go straight, but he wouldn’t let me and forced me into a parking spot.”
St. Charles County, Missouri, Sheriff Tom Neer said his department had been “duped” into cooperating with the government subcontractor conducting the study. He said, “We will not cooperate with one of these federal checkpoints again. And we would not have contracted with the subcontractor on this one if we had known in advance that our officers would be asked to flag down motorists. In essence, we got duped, and shame on me.”


Neer claimed that the federal subcontractor involved with the study, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, did not inform his department that officers would be involved in the checkpoints.
The NHTSA responded to Neer’s comments by claiming that such surveys have been conducted around the country for the past 40 years.
Many find the surveys distasteful and some have questioned if they are even constitutional.
Civil liberty attorney Frank Colosi said, “You can’t just be pulled over randomly or for no reason. They’re essentially lying to you when they say it’s completely voluntary, because they’re testing you at that moment.”
Even if the checkpoints are not technically unconstitutional, some find it disturbing that such practices are arguably becoming acceptable norms in our society.

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illegal search and seizure of you!!!!

Lawsuit: Woman Faced Illegal Body Cavity Search, Observed Bowel Movement

December 18, 2013 12:21 PM




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File photo of courtroom.(Photo by Spencer Weiner-Pool/Getty Images)


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American Civil Liberties Union, body cavity search, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, University Medical Center of El Paso
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Federal agents wrongfully strip-searched a New Mexico woman at the El Paso border crossing, then took her to a hospital where she was forced to undergo illegal body cavity probes in an attempt to find drugs, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in El Paso said the unnamed 54-year-old U.S. citizen was “brutally” searched by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in December 2012 after being selected for additional random screening at the Cordova Bridge in El Paso when a drug sniffing dog jumped on her. The woman was returning from a visit to a recently deported family friend in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, the lawsuit said.
Agents quickly stripped searched her and did cavity searches but found no evidence of drugs, court documents said. But the woman was transported in handcuffs to the University Medical Center of El Paso, the lawsuit said, where doctors subjected her to an observed bowel movement, a CT scan and other exams without a warrant.
Roger Maier, a spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation. “We do not tolerate corruption or abuse within our ranks, and we fully cooperate with any criminal or administrative investigations of alleged misconduct by any of our personnel, on or off-duty,” Maier said.
According to the agency’s website, CBP officers are expected to “conduct their duties in a professional manner and to treat each traveler with dignity and respect.” The website says agents “use diverse factors to refer individuals for targeted examinations.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and Texas said no drugs were found on the woman despite the intrusive searches.

“After enduring approximately six hours of demeaning and highly invasive searches, (the woman) was released without any charge,” the lawsuit said.
However, her attorney said she was charged $5,000 by the hospital.
“What is truly frightening about this incident is that it could have happened to anyone,” said ACLU-NM Legal Director Laura Schauer Ives. “The failed drug war and militarized border region have created an environment in which law enforcement officials increasingly inflict extreme and illegal searches on innocent Americans.”
Named in the lawsuit were the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the University Medical Center of El Paso, and various agents allegedly involved in the searches.
“Hospital policy is to obtain consent from all patients who receive medical services at UMC,” Margaret Althoff-Olivas, a spokeswoman for University Medical Center of El Paso told the AP in a statement. “Because this case involves litigation, UMC will not be commenting further.”
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages.
(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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