It seems akin to child endangerment, which is generally treated criminally. If a daycare did child endangerment then it would be shut down and its management prosecuted criminally. That is what should happen with this here jail and its jailers.

Unfortunately, if that does happen, it just means that more prisoners will be found “hung in their cell” in the future.

The real answer is video. Working video in every cell all the time. and in the halls of every prison.

These cameras should be required by law, and upon pain of criminal penalty, working at all times. That would solve the “Ronnie L. White Problem,” and the “Daniel Chong Problem,” too.

One quotation in this article from Chong himself has forced me to reconsider accusing the DEA of malice in this case: “I felt paralyzed. It was really hard to stand. I started screaming something ridiculous like, ‘Remedy! Revive me!’ And then that’s when the lights turned on and the agents opened the door with very confused looks on their faces. They said, ‘Who are you? Where’d you come from?’”

I find it hard to believe that a jailer would be able to feign confusion or surprise in a situation like that. The notion just doesn’t have the ring of truth. The best explanation I can suggest for this incident based on what I’ve read so far is that it was caused by a clusterfuck of procedural laxity. It definitely demands a top-to-bottom review of the sort that the NTSB conducts after air crashes.

In the meantime, the DEA detention facilities should be closed and their detainees redirected to Bureau of Prisons facilities. If the DEA facilities are to be reopened, it should only be after the top-to-bottom investigation is complete and the facilities have been staffed with agents thoroughly trained by experienced BOP staff.

One of the main reasons that our commercial aviation system is so safe is that those running it are uncompromising about following established procedures to a T. Our better-run and more humane jails and prisons, including BOP facilities, seem to have similar cultures. The DEA clearly needs to establish that sort of culture at every one of its detention facilities and be supervised more closely.

Another lesson from the Chong case is that detainees should be held only in facilities with dedicated custody staff on site 24 hours a day. It sounds as if custody duties at the facility where Chong was held were split up among field agents on an ad hoc basis. If that’s the case, it’s extremely poor procedure and a recipe for disaster. Detention facilities absolutely need to have staff who are responsible for custodial duties and nothing else. They’re the ones who have the time and experience to make sure that their facilities are running properly. Field agents simply don’t.

At this point, I don’t feel comfortable with a rush to judgment that DEA acted maliciously. We need to figure out exactly what happened in this specific case in order to prevent it in the future. It’s extremely counterproductive to assume malice on DEA’s part in this case simply because malice has been proven in other cases.

At least I don’t think that the DEA has a union or fraternity to help them avoid accountability, unlike most city’s blue gangs. But they probably still have some arbitration privilege so that if anyone’s feelings are hurt by harsh words for nearly killing this kid, they will get a warm glass of milk, soothing words and continued employment.

Radley posted a story last week about the son of a Philadelphia police officer who was tortured to death in a Pennsylvania state prison. I and others expressed apathy at best in that case. I personally attributed it to first reserving my outrage for victims of the state who are not children of State agents.

This story is a perfect example of why I reserve my outrage for just such victims. There is a virtually unlimited supply of these victims. When the pool runs dry, then I will contemplate offering sympathy to others less deserving.

Also, I find it interesting that eight acquaintances of the victim in this case were all processed without incident, and that the victim was the only one who did not have charges brought against him. My question is whether the DEA agents were trying to administer a little extra-judicial punishment because they knew they didn’t have a case against him, or trying to teach him a life lesson in the only way they knew how, or was it a true “accident?”

If that happens, heads will probably roll at DEA, and criminal charges could well be filed against the agents. This sort of thing will not go over well with the folks at home, and there will probably be serious pressure on the authorities to take action.

I’d like to see the SDPD homicide division investigate this case as well. From everything I’ve heard it’s a crack unit with an excellent ethical track record. Attempted murder charges are clearly warranted in this case. Good God, any civilian accused of locking someone in a cage without food or water for four days and nearly causing his death would be lucky to afford bail.

Generally speaking, and especially after seeing the kind of coverage that this case is now getting, I’m somewhat optimistic about the perpetrators being held to account. After all, Robert Gisevius may or may not get out of prison alive, and the Danziger Bridge killings weren’t remotely as heinous or inexcusable as the accusations in the Chong case.

Perhaps Antonin’s true-calling was/is stand-up comedy.

Actually, it’s circus contortionist, the rubber man. He does standup while licking jackboots at the same time.

Move along here, nothing to see here but “professional” federal agents at work.

Scalia’s Alternate Universe

Moreover, modern police forces are staffed with professionals; it is not credible to assert that internal discipline, which can limit successful careers, will not have a deterrent effect. There is also evidence that the increasing use of various forms of citizen review can enhance police accountability.

Perhaps Antonin’s true-calling was/is stand-up comedy.

Well, of course. They have to keep up with the ATF Agents who were involved in “Fast and Furious” don’t they.

Probably a contempt of cop reprisal by some sadistic Federal agent.

The stoned college student probably mouthed off, so they stuck him in a cell to teach him a lesson….then, promptly forgot they had in a prisoner in George Orwell’s Room 101? Not likely.

And, yes, the DEA will hereafter perform a thorough review of all policies and procedures. From their Lessons Learned from this inciddent, they’ll probably add a chapter to the Federal Prisoner Torture Manual, Version 19.7 (b)(2), on how to torture a prisoner to death without even laying a finger on him…..just let him die of thirst, handcuffed alone in the dark.

I take it it won’t manke CNN or ABC News tonight then?

Has any major new outlet picked this story up yet?

The mystical powers of google-fu reveal several:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=daniel+chong+ALICIA+CALDWELL&btnK=Google+Search&oq=&aq=&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=853&bih=558&ech=1&psi=mHOhT56qOcKriQLr28yHBQ.1335981156888.3&emsg=NCSR&noj=1&ei=mHOhT56qOcKriQLr28yHBQ

http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/05/01/2821510/calif-man-forgotten-in-cell-says.html
Chong said he could hear the muffled voices of agents outside his five-by-10-foot windowless cell and the sound of the door of the next cell being opened and closed. He kicked and screamed as loud as he could, but apparently, his cries for help went unheard.

“I had to recycle my own urine,” he said. “I had to do what I had to do to survive.”

When he was found on April 25, he was taken to a hospital and treated for cramps, dehydration and a perforated lung – the result of ingesting the broken glass.

“When they opened the door, one of them said ‘Here’s the water you’ve been asking for,’” Chong said. “But I was pretty out of it at the time.”

Chong also ingested a white powder DEA agents said was left in the cell accidentally and later identified as methamphetamine. He described having hallucinations, saying: “I was completely insane.”

The agency hasn’t commented on Chong’s claim that he was without basic necessities for days. He also said the lights went off at one point and stayed off for several days.

*********************

They turned the lights out and left him in a tomb, essentially, for days with no toilet, food or water…and he was handcuffed the whole time. No wonder he went fucking insane.

“@Mork15
13 hours ago
+12 updown
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Nice comments here. No wonder America is going down the drain. This country is filled to the brim with psychotic authoritarian scumbags who probably feel more comfortable living in Nazi Germany. Daniel Chong, sue the **** out the DEA, and then when you’re done, sue each and every single individual responsible for this. “

Who do you vote for? Both parties push this drug war bullshit. I have no idea what to do.