Oops! We Forgot You Were There

lhump1961 said:
I'm of the thought that I don't know anything about either side of the story and won't judge so quickly. Obviously a major mistake that has to be answered for but you folks want to lynch someone...I'm sure the guy who won the $$ is an angel and the jailers are halfwits.:rolleyes:

I would wager that if we could see the rap sheet on the dope smoker we would be thrilled to know that he is now going to smoke up, shoot up, whatever...millions of $$ of taxpayer money. Bad screw up by the jailers...waste of money to the con. No good side to this story.:(
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My little bit of legal experience is that when the side that has to pay is OK with settling for a multi-million dollar settlement, the facts are really bad for them. Sort of like the LAPD shooting up those two women delivering newspapers-- they settled fast for big bucks there, as well. The victims in both instances get their money a lot faster, which is their inducement not to roll the dice on a trial and appeals.

It's not disputed that the DEA left that kid in a holding cell without food or water for over four days. That's the sort of stuff that one might have expected to hear about occurring in some Third-World craphole, not in this country. Whatever bit of character assassination the pro-DEA guys feel like engaging in, the fact is still that the DEA left that kid where they did for as long as they did. Why they arrested him (and he was not charged with anything) is irrelevant.
 
Stephanie B said:
My little bit of legal experience is that when the side that has to pay is OK with settling for a multi-million dollar settlement, the facts are really bad for them. Sort of like the LAPD shooting up those two women delivering newspapers-- they settled fast for big bucks there, as well. The victims in both instances get their money a lot faster, which is their inducement not to roll the dice on a trial and appeals.

It's not disputed that the DEA left that kid in a holding cell without food or water for over four days. That's the sort of stuff that one might have expected to hear about occurring in some Third-World craphole, not in this country. Whatever bit of character assassination the pro-DEA guys feel like engaging in, the fact is still that the DEA left that kid where they did for as long as they did. Why they arrested him (and he was not charged with anything) is irrelevant.
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I acknowledged the critical mistake and didn't excuse it...just sayin' there isn't an upside to this case.
 
lhump1961 said:
I would wager that if we could see the rap sheet on the dope smoker we would be thrilled to know that he is now going to smoke up, shoot up, whatever...millions of $$ of taxpayer money. (
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Unsafe assumption. In my drinking days I was known to smoke a little dope and take some pills I shouldn't have. Drove drunk all the time. That was over thirty years ago, I've stayed clrean and sober, and I have no rap sheet. Lots of people who smoke weed occasionally aren't the kind of folks you're speculating this boy is. I'm not condoning it at all, just saying he may not be that bad a kid. My son smoked some pot when he was that age. He's 46, no arrest record, has a great job and a wonderful family. No weed.

And even if this kid is hard core, he didn't deserve that. Nobody does.

I kind of lean toward the stomping.
 
shouldazagged said:
Unsafe assumption. In my drinking days I was known to smoke a little dope and take some pills I shouldn't have. Drove drunk all the time. That was over thirty years ago, I've stayed clrean and sober, and I have no rap sheet. Lots of people who smoke weed occasionally aren't the kind of folks you're speculating this boy is. I'm not condoning it at all, just saying he may not be that bad a kid. My son smoked some pot when he was that age. He's 46, no arrest record, has a great job and a wonderful family. No weed.

And even if this kid is hard core, he didn't deserve that. Nobody does.

I kind of lean toward the stomping.
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I understand your point completely...my response would be that this guy wasn't busted at the park or in his home but instead with a group that was targeted by LE. I could be wrong in my assumption that his activity was more than recreational but it is likely. Although pot has never been for me I have known many, as we all do, who use it recreationally and they are fine folks...no big deal.

My real point is that it is a shame that due to the negligence of the jailers the taxpayers just dropped a lot of money on this guy when that same money could have helped so many others in need. I'm not judging either party...I'm sure the jailers didn't do it purpose and are otherwise good souls and the poor guy they arrested didn't deserve what he suffered. Bad deal all around...that's all I'm sayin'.
 
id let them lock me up for 5 days for half of that! i got tough kidneys, but ill pass on the "urinade" and finger painting would help pass the time.
 
My sister was locked....

Years ago my sister who is a speech therapist, went to do some work in a locked mental ward. They had a shift change and left her there. She banged on the door and screamed that she didn't belong there but nobody paid attention. (I'm sure that's what they all say) Every once in a while one of the patients would shuffle of to her and ask for a cigarette. "Sure Sure!" she said as she doled them out. She said that by morning she was running low on cigarettes. When they got her out they were all apologetic.
 
Lie down with dogs, you get fleas. This 25 yr. old man ( not a kid) was in the wrong place at the wrong time...by his own choice, so he got picked up, locked up and at that point an error was made by agents.

Several of my "retrievals" in Mexico have been similar situations, and those ladies and gentlemen sat in a cell (or walled compound, dirt floor and no roof) for weeks or months. Some were guilty of nothing more than having relatives with money. None were awarded anything more than the Big Mac I bought them after we crossed the bridge.(some were greeted by U.S. LEO and awarded handcuffs).

I'm just saying that the young fellow is fortunate in that he lives in a country where he can make a claim. A lot of places have unmarked graves for the "mistakes".
 
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If they caused me kidney failure, and the anguish I that I might die from their neglect, and the humiliation he went through, 4 mil ain't enough. I would hire a wolf pack of lawyers, and try to destroy them, professionally and personally. Then DEA could pick up the tab.
 
There you go. The American Way.


"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask who you can sue in your country!"
 
Depending on how they worded the settlement the Feds and State may get 2/3rds back in taxes right off the bat. Then the lawyers will get paid for doing what they were hired to do. Then the long lost relations will start showing up, etc. etc.
 
lhump1961 said:
I'm of the thought that I don't know anything about either side of the story and won't judge so quickly. Obviously a major mistake that has to be answered for but you folks want to lynch someone...I'm sure the guy who won the $$ is an angel and the jailers are halfwits.:rolleyes:

I would wager that if we could see the rap sheet on the dope smoker we would be thrilled to know that he is now going to smoke up, shoot up, whatever...millions of $$ of taxpayer money. Bad screw up by the jailers...waste of money to the con. No good side to this story.:(
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Pot isnt crack or meth. I smoked it occasionally as a teen and the only trouble i got in was mediocre grades in school. No rap sheet, no gang affiliations, nothing. Pot isnt something you commit crimes to get (steel, rob, kill). The only urge you get after smoking pot is the urge to eat. Heck when i was in Holland it was legal and everywhere. Grandma's were smoking it!

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Obviously Daniel Chong shouldn't have been where he was. I would guess there are many who can attest to being somewhere they shouldn't have been, or, doing something better left not done at some point in life. He got scooped up and taken in for questioning. He wasn't charged with anything and was going to be released.

He was left handcuffed in a windowless 5'x10' holding cell with no lights, food, communication, or water for four and a half days. He didn't have any method of telling day or night, what was up or down, or if he was going to be left to die. After a certain amount of time without water dehydration sets in and his kidneys stop functioning. He has no orientation and his skull is getting screwed.

If you think he deserved some type of punishment for smoking weed, this ain't it. I guess they sure showed him. Over four million dollars worth. That is tax free. The lawyer probably gets 20%. That leaves over three million for Chong. Since we're not a third world country yet, this should not have happened.
 
Doesn't this kind of thing rise to the level of criminal negligence or something along those lines?
 
Arik said:
And you wouldnt?
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What I was referring to was this:
wbraswell said:
...I would hire a wolf pack of lawyers, and try to destroy them, professionally and personally. Then DEA could pick up the tab...
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I'm a curmudgeon, but I'm not vindictive. So no, I wouldn't. I'm sure that he deserved a settlement, but sticking the knife in and twisting it? I don't think so. People make mistakes. People aren't perfect.
 
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