A second man is alleging that law enforcement in Hidalgo County, N.M., violated his rights and escalated a minor traffic stop into an anal-probing nightmare as they searched in vain for drugs.
Timothy Young was stopped on Oct. 13, 2012, for allegedly turning without a signal. A K-9 dog erroneously indicated Young had drugs in his vehicle and he was taken to the Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City, N.M., where doctors performed an x-ray scan and a digital anal probe, KOB-TV reported Tuesday.
Young went public after a similar case attracted intense national coverage this week, and Albuquerque civil rights attorney Shannon Kennedy tells U.S. News she is filing a lawsuit on his behalf.
Kennedy also represents David Eckert, who was stopped on Jan. 2, 2013, by Deming, N.M., police for allegedly rolling through a stop sign. Eckert was also taken to the Gila Regional Medical Center, where he was x-rayed, forcibly given enemas and then given a colonoscopy.
Three Deming policemen and three Hidalgo County officers were allegedly involved in the Eckert case, which may be settled out of court. Named defendants include the six officers, the medical center, two doctors and a deputy district attorney who secured a warrant authorizing an anal probe.
No drugs were found in the possession of either man.
KOB-TV reports that a K-9 dog named "Leo" incorrectly alerted police to the existence of drugs in each of the men's vehicles. The station reports that Leo's drug-sniffing certification expired in April 2011.
"You can talk to our attorney," a member of the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday when asked for comment. Attorneys for the office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Correction 11/06/13: This article originally said a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Timothy Young. The lawsuit has not yet been filed.
Steven Nelson is a reporter at U.S. News & World Report. You can follow him on Twitter or reach him at snelson@usnews.com.