They like to watch

I hadn't heard about this case before so I'm posting the press release about a woman who was forced to strip naked in public as part of a bogus bust. She was compelled to do this by the officers as part of a bizarre and clearly unnecessary "decontamination" process.

The North Metro Drug Task Force, apparently acting on a faulty tip broke into this woman's home and after searching for a non-existent meth lab found only a small quantity of drugs for personal use. There was absolutely nothing in her apartment to suggest she was cooking up meth. Nonetheless, several male officers forced her to strip in the parking lot, in full view of her neighbors and themselves, and wash herself down with water to remove non-existent residual contaminants. To add insult to injury, they also brought in a private videographer with no law enforcement function to accompany them into her home and film the events

Mark Silverstein, ACLU Legal Director, sums it up well. "This case presents one more example of how the War on Drugs has become a war on the Constitution and basic human rights."

The ACLU has filed a complaint on this victim's behalf. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for violations of the Plaintiff's right of privacy, right of bodily integrity, and her right to be free of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

It's times like these that I'm really proud to be part of the ACLU.