Police take manhandling to a whole new level in the name of alcohol testing

James Lockard of Indiana has gone through one hell of a bad couple of hours with the police. It all started routinely enough:

According to the suit, police arrested Jamie Lockard, 53, on suspicion of drunken driving in March.

A Breathalyzer test showed he was under the legal limit, but Officer Brian Miller doubted the findings.

Of course – why trust those pesky tools he's given, anyway? But what happened next is just ... well, you find a suitable word for it.

Lockard and his attorney claim in the suit that police took him to Dearborn County Hospital and forced him to submit to a urine and blood test.

Police said they obtained a warrant, but Lockard's attorney said his client was shackled to a gurney and had a catheter inserted against his will.

[...]

The blood test showed that Lockard's blood-alcohol level did not exceed Indiana's legal limit, police said.

Of course it didn't. 'Cause that's what the Breathalyzer had said earlier.

What's more, even though he was cleared of any drunk driving charges, Lockard was then charged with obstruction of justice. Right, it's one hell of a thing for a guy to refuse having blood and piss forcibly taken from him by a dumbass cop when the victim isn't even drunk to begin with. How dare he try and fight for his dignity!

Understandably (no shit), Lockard is now suing the department, the cop in question, and the doctor who performed the catheterization on him. (Though, personally, I disagree with suing the doctor; he was just doing as he was told by the cops who eclipsed him in authority. Unfair to blame a guy who didn't have a choice, in my opinion.)

(via The Agitator)

Technorati tags: lawsuits · drunk driving · police