3 Enemas later, still no drugs
In this column, Nicholas Kristof reports a supposed drug case that occurred early last year in Hidalgo County, New Mexico. David Eckert, a 54 year old man, was pulled over and accused, due to his erect posture, of smuggling drugs in his rectum. The police brought Eckert to a local hospital where the doctor refused to do a search of his rectum. They then drove 50 miles out just to take him to a hospital that would perform the wanted procedures. In the end, Eckert wound up having two rectal exams, three enemas, two x-rays, and a colonoscopy- and no drugs were found. He soon received a bill from the hospital for $6,000. After filing a lawsuit, Eckert finally received compensation of $1.6 million only a week or so ago. Two similar cases were also reported in this column, both of people who live in New Mexico. This may lead one to believe that the police in this area are corrupt. Throughout this article, Kristof provides a significant amount of background information. He argues that these people were pulled over due to inequality measures. He believes that minorities and people of a lower social status tend to get pulled over more often, and views inequality as an ongoing problem in America today.