Department of Justice Issues Report On The Incarceration Of Daniel Chong, A 24 Year Old Student, Who Was Forgotten About And Left Unattended In A Cell Without Food, Water, Or A Bathroom For Four And A ½ Days

Daniel Chong was caught up in a drug-sting and determined not to be involved by the arresting authorities.  He was put in a cell, and forgotten about.  He almost died, after spending four days without food, water, or access to a toilet. 

The Department of Justice has released excerpts of a report in relation to their investigation of the incident.  The article, by Randy Balko, captioned “Daniel Chong is the entirely predictable result of dehumanizing drug offenders”, can be read here:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/07/09/daniel-chong-is-the-entirely-predictable-result-of-dehumanizing-drug-offenders/ and excerpts of the report can be read here:  http://www.utsandiego.com/documents/2014/jul/08/inspector-general-report-dea-case-daniel-chong/

According to the Washington Post,

The OIG report is infuriating. We often call it the drug war, but we don’t even treat prisoners of war this way.

Four different federal drug agents saw or heard Daniel Chong during the five days he was handcuffed in a holding cell without food or water after a 2012 narcotics sweep, a U.S. Department of Justice report released on Tuesday found.

The agents did nothing because they assumed someone else was responsible for the detainee, and because there was no training for agents on how to track and monitor wards at the Kearny Mesa detention center, the report found.

So Chong wasn’t forgotten. He was ignored. 

The report goes on to discuss how DEA officials attempted to contain the incident.