This lawsuit, filed on behalf of a woman from one of Denver's northern suburbs, alleges that the North Metro Drug Task Force made her strip naked in the parking lot of her condominium in full view of her neighbors and male law enforcement officers and forced her to submit to a humiliating and degrading "decontamination" ritual that had no legitimate purpose whatsoever.
The "decontamination" took place after the Task Force had thoroughly searched the woman's home looking for a nonexistent methamphetamine laboratory. In addition to failing to find a meth lab, the law enforcement officers found no dangerous chemicals and failed to detect any of the volatile vapors that pose a potential risk to public safety. They did find a small personal-use quantity of methamphetamine and arrested the woman for possession.
The lawsuit alleges that in the absence of a meth lab or any dangerous fumes, the degrading "decontamination" ritual served no arguable law enforcement or public safety purpose.
ACLU news release:
- "ACLU Sues North Metro Drug Task Force on Behalf of Woman Forced to Strip Naked in Full View of Neighbors," ACLU News Release, April 12, 2004
ACLU case number
2003-10