Body Cavity Search Case Allowed to Proceed: Suit Claims Boston Cops and Hospital Doctor Forcibly Subjected a Suspected Drug Dealer to 2 Anal Cavity Searches w/o a warrant, While Handcuffed and Sedated

From [HERE] A federal judge refused to dismiss emotional distress claims against a hospital accused of subjecting a suspected drug dealer to two anal cavity searches without a warrant. The suspect testified that he now suffers from loss of sleep, difficulty eating, and suicidal thoughts due to the experience, and it remains disputed whether the attending physician who performed the searches was employed by the hospital, Steward Medical Group, Inc. (SMG).

According the court, the complaint stated,

On May 13, 2015, Dyer was arrested for drug possession. After a “physical altercation,” Dyer “began having chest pains.” Emergency medical technicians instructed police officers Crossen and Lai to escort Dyer to Carney Hospital. In the ambulance, Crossen told Dyer that he believed Dyer had drugs hidden in his rectum, and “that ‘he’ was going to give [Dyer] a rectal exam.”

When they arrived at Carney Hospital, Crossen told Dyer he would order a doctor to conduct an anal cavity search. Crossen instructed hospital staff to place Dyer on a gurney face-down, and Crossen and Lai handcuffed Riley to the bottom of the gurney. Crossen and Lai then removed Riley’s clothes. Crossen then allegedly “slapped” Riley’s bare buttocks and made offensive remarks referring to Dyer as his “bitch,” at which point Riley screamed for help. Crossen then digitally penetrated Dyer’s rectum. Dyer continued screaming for help.

Dr. Riley entered the room and saw Crossen removing his fingers from Dyer. Dr. Riley then left the room with Crossen and Lai. Outside, Crossen and Lai informed Dr. Riley that Dyer had “a history of packing drugs, hypodermic needles and other weapons in his rectum.” When they returned, Dr. Riley explained that Crossen and Lai told him that Dyer “got caught with drugs in [his] buttocks today” and that the officers had asked Dr. Riley to perform a rectal exam on Dyer. Dr. Riley asked Dyer if he had drugs in his rectum, and Dyer denied having any drugs. Dr. Riley asked Dyer to consent to an anal cavity search, but Dyer refused. D. 1-1 ¶ 24. Dr. Riley then “drugged or sedated” Dyer, told Lai and Crossen to hold Dyer down as Dyer continued to protest, and inserted two fingers into Dyer’s rectum. Nurses, hearing Dyer, occasionally “yell[ed] and open[ed] the curtain” to keep Dyer quiet. Dr. Riley then took an x-ray of Dyer’s pelvis.

The court’s order denying the request to dismiss stated:

The following facts are undisputed. Dyer was arrested on May 13, 2015 for suspected involvement in a drug transaction. During the arrest, Dyer stated he was experiencing chest pains. Subsequently, Dyer was transported to Carney Hospital for treatment, id., where he was treated by Dr. Reily, Dr. Reily is an employee of SMG. Dyer contends that there are additional facts that support his opposition to the summary judgment motion. Namely, Dyer alleges that he was forcibly subjected to two anal cavity searches without a warrant, first by Crossen and then by Dr. Reily. D. 103 ¶¶ 25, 31, 33, 39. Dyer claims that Carney Hospital staff heard as he screamed for help during the searches. Id.

Dyer also argues that he did not consent to receiving medication or x-ray imaging of his abdomen and pelvis ordered by Dr. Reily. Id. ¶¶ 35, 40. Without Dyer’s consent, id. ¶ 40, Dr. Reily communicated to Crossen and Lai that the x-rays showed that Dyer “had not secreted any drugs or contraband in his body,”