Pubdate: Wed, 06 May 2015
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2015 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.utsandiego.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386
Note: Seldom prints LTEs from outside it's circulation area.
Author: Jeff McDonald

PANEL GRILLS DEA ON LOCAL DETENTION CASE

Senator Criticizes Agency's Response 3 Years After Ucsd Student 
Nearly Died in Holding Cell

Three years ago this week, Daniel Chong made news around the world 
when the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration admitted that its 
agents accidentally left him in a temporary cell for five days 
without food or water.

The former University of California San Diego engineering student was 
back in the national headlines Tuesday when U.S. senators grilled the 
DEA during a Capitol Hill hearing on details about the Chong case and 
other well-publicized blunders.

Chong was very near death when he was discovered in a cell at the DEA 
San Diego field office on April 25, 2012, five days after he was 
caught in a drug sweep at a University City home where he had spent 
the previous night.

He lost so much weight the handcuffs had slipped off his wrists. He 
broke his eyeglasses and swallowed the broken shards of glass in an 
unsuccessful attempt to kill himself during the worst hours of 
delirium. He drank his own urine to stay alive.

Chong was discovered on the fifth day and was rushed to an intensive 
care unit. He suffered from malnutrition, dehydration and other 
injuries before being released almost a week later. He was never 
charged with a crime.

On Tuesday, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, wanted an explanation for 
why the DEA agents responsible for the oversight received little more 
than suspensions.

"The Drug Enforcement Administration still has a lot of explaining to 
do, and failing to answer my questions doesn't show that they've 
learned from the mistakes made in Mr. Chong's detention," Grassley said.

According to the DEA, two agents were suspended without pay. A 
supervisory special agent was suspended for seven days for failing to 
exercise proper supervision and a special agent was suspended five 
days for inattention to duty.

Four other special agents received formal letters of reprimand for 
inattention to duty.

The discipline was meted out in March, according to a letter the U.S. 
Department of Justice sent to Grassley late last month. The letter 
indicated that the Obama administration was not satisfied with the response.

"What happened to Mr. Chong is unacceptable," Assistant Attorney 
General Peter Kadzik wrote. "While DEA leadership took immediate 
steps following the incident to implement protocols and procedures 
with regard to monitoring holding cells and detainees, given the 
significant misconduct at issue, the Department has serious concerns 
about the adequacy of the discipline that DEA imposed on these employees."

Grassley and other senators also criticized the DEA for failing to 
respond to questions posed three years ago, when the case was still 
unfolding - or even after the federal government agreed to pay Chong 
millions of dollars not to sue.

"This is a very serious matter and questions should be answered to 
ensure a tragedy like this doesn't happen again," Grassley said.

Chong went to a friend's home on Friday night, April 20, 2012, to 
celebrate "4/20," a celebratory date among pot smokers. Unknown to 
him, the home had been under surveillance for several days and drug 
agents planned to execute a search warrant early the next morning.

The UC San Diego student was among nine people taken into custody 
during the sweep and transported to the DEA field office in San Diego 
for questioning.

Chong was interviewed by agents, who quickly determined that he was 
not part of the group suspected of selling Ecstasy out of the 
University City residence and told him he would be let go within a few minutes.

Drug agents instead forgot about Chong and left him inside a 
temporary holding cell with nothing more than a metal bench. He said 
he kicked and screamed to get the guards' attention, but no one came. 
He said he repeatedly heard voices on the other side of the heavy door.

After U-T San Diego disclosed the ordeal, the government issued a 
near-immediate apology. By 2013, they agreed to several reforms and 
paid Chong $4.1 million.

A subsequent review by the Inspector General's Office found numerous 
deficiencies within the DEA and the San Diego field office in 
particular. Auditors said at least four times officers found Chong by 
himself in the cell but each assumed someone else would process him.

The report recommended a series of proposals to prevent similar mistakes.

Attorney Eugene Iredale, who represented Chong throughout his legal 
odyssey, singled out an unidentified San Diego Police Department 
employee on loan to a federal narcotics task force for the most 
blatant misconduct.

"When a person we believe to be a San Diego police detective locked 
him in, he told Daniel he would return within five minutes to release 
Daniel," Iredale said Tuesday. "Nearly five days later, the cell door 
finally opened to reveal a young student who was clinging by a thread to life."

Iredale said the procedures the DEA agreed to adopt as part of the 
settlement were a key part of protecting people who are detained by 
the government.

"It is critical that DEA, and all law enforcement agencies, obey the 
rules which requires decent and humane treatment for all persons, 
including prisoners," he said.

The DEA has been under increased scrutiny since the Chong case, 
despite its public pledges to improve practices.

In March, it was reported that DEA agents in Colombia engaged in sex 
parties with prostitutes paid for by drug cartels. Ten agents 
admitted attending the parties, and some of the agents were suspended 
from work for two to 10 days.

Last month, DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart announced she would 
resign after more than 20 lawmakers expressed no confidence in her 
leadership. Leonhart is expected to leave her position by the middle 
of this month.

According to Kadzik, the Department of Justice is conducting a broad 
overview of DEA operations and practices.

"Following this review, the department will work with the DEA to 
enhance its policies and procedures to ensure that all allegations 
are thoroughly investigated and that any substantiated findings of 
misconduct are properly addressed through the disciplinary process," he wrote.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom