Policy

Lawsuit Claims Forced Catheterization After DWI Stop

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An Indiana man has filed a lawsuit against a Lawrenceville, Indiana police officer and a local doctor and hospital, claiming he was forcibly catheterized after a DWI stop. According to the lawsuit, Jamie Lockard passed his roadside breath test. But the officer still detained  Lockard and took him to a local hospital, where doctors strapped him to a gurney, pushed a catheter inside of him, and forcibly extracted blood and urine from him. The blood and urine tests also showed Lockard to be under the legal limit. 

Lockard was never charged for drunk driving. According to the lawsuit, he was charged with "obstruction of justice," apparently for having the temerity to resist someone shoving a tube into his body without his permission.

A local magistrate signed off on a warrant for the procedure.

I guess this means the results of those trustworthy roadside breath tests are only reliable when they show that someone is intoxicated.

(Via Popehat)