SAN DIEGO (AP) — Four U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration employees saw or heard a handcuffed San
Diego student locked in a cell for five days without food
or water, but did nothing because they assumed
someone else was responsible, investigators said
Tuesday.
The Justice Department's inspector general faulted
several DEA employees for their handling of the April
2012 incident that left Daniel Chong in grave physical
health, cost the agency a $4.1 million settlement and led
to nationwide changes in the agency's detention policies.
The employees told investigators they found nothing
unusual in their encounters with Chong and assumed
whoever put him in the cell would return for him shortly.
Chong, then 23, ingested methamphetamine, drank his
own urine to survive and cut himself with broken glasses
while he was held.
A three-page summary of the investigation does not say
when the four employees encountered Chong or what
they heard or saw, and the DEA wouldn't elaborate. The
agency declined to say if any employees faced
consequences, calling it an "ongoing internal disciplinary
matter."
Chong was handcuffed behind his back without access to
a toilet. He has said he slid a shoelace under the door
and screamed for attention before he was found covered
in his feces. He said he used a shard from his broken
glasses to try to carve a "Sorry Mom" farewell message
on his arm but only managed to finish an "S."
Chong, a student at University of California, San Diego,
was detained in a drug sweep and told after brief
questioning that he would be released. Last year, he
reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the federal
government over what his attorneys called a near-death
experience.
The Justice Department's inspector general found the
DEA's San Diego office didn't have a system to track
detainee movements, that holding cells were not
equipped with cameras and that an employee assigned to
monitor cells had many other responsibilities. Employees
were not required to sign in or out of the detention area,
and there were no reliable electronic entry records
because the door lock wasn't working.
There was no DEA policy or training regarding operations
of holding cells at the time and no requirement that
holding cells be checked at the end of each day.
The inspector general faulted three case agents — one a
DEA employee and two assigned to an agency task force
— and one supervisor who were responsible for Chong's
safety. It said the supervisor exercised poor judgment
and violated DEA policy by assigning two of the agents to
process evidence from the cell after Chong was found.
Investigators also faulted DEA management for launching
an investigation into Chong's detention before alerting
the inspector general, a violation of DEA and Justice
Department policies that they said could have hampered
any criminal prosecution. The DEA is part of the Justice
Department.
The DEA said Chong's case prompted new nationwide
policies for handling detainees that largely mirror the
inspector general's recommendations.
"The DEA is confident that these measures will help to
prevent similar incidents in the future," the agency said
in a statement.
Julia Yoo, an attorney for Chong, said she was "gratified
that the investigation seems to be thorough" but called
on the inspector general to release the full report. She
said Chong was still in school in San Diego and "doing
well."

http://news.yahoo.com/us-workers-encountered-man-left-cell-days-010411886.html