(Greater Dakota News Service)- A settlement tied to claims of unlawful drug tests issued by police departments in Pierre, Sisseton and Wagner as well as the South Dakota Highway Patrol has won approval in federal court.
The judge ruled more than $400-thousand will be split among those who were the subject of forced catheterizations after they were suspected of being drug users. In April, the judge ruled those tests violated the Fourth Amendment.
Rapid City attorney Jim Leach worked with the ACLU on the case on behalf of the individuals. He says there was little question these people had used drugs, but that doesn’t mean the actions of police were justified.
South Dakota is the only state where ingesting a controlled substance is considered a felony.
Activists say cases such as this underscore the need for the state to adopt criminal-justice reform. Supporters of the approach hope South Dakota takes a step forward if voters approve a ballot measure this November that would legalize marijuana for those 21 and older. Meanwhile, Leach says for his clients, the aggressive tactics may have resulted in a settlement, but the emotional scars will linger.
In these situations, police obtained search warrants for urine samples to detect the presence of drugs. None of those warrants specifically authorized forced catheterization as a means of obtaining evidence.
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