Forgotten for days in a DEA holding cell, UCSD student Daniel Chong wins a $4.1 million settlement
Daniel Chong was an engineering student at UCSD. He had slept over at a friend’s house, where DEA agents had obtained a warrant. DEA agents took everyone in the house to their office in Kearny Mesa.
Daniel was placed in a 5 feet by 10 feet holding cell with no windows, sink, toilet, or panic button in case of emergency. Daniel was given no food or water upon his arrival, despite his request that he was hungry. DEA agents interrogated Daniel, and subsequently told him he would be released shortly.
He remained in the holding cell, handcuffed, for five days.
Daniel drank his own urine to try and build strength so that he would not pass out from his severe exhaustion and lack of nutrition. Daniel experienced hallucinations, extreme dehydration, and thought he was going to die. Daniel contemplated suicide and ingested his eyeglasses in an attempt to end his suffering. He attempted to carve “sorry mom” into his arm to leave a farewell message for his mother.
When Daniel was found, the DEA agents did not know who he was, because they had forgotten about him. EMTs took Daniel to the emergency room because he was unable to swallow his own saliva and was covered in his own feces. Daniel woke up in the ICU and had to stay in the hospital for five days. Daniel was diagnosed with 1) Acute renal failure; 2) Acute rhabdomyolysis; 3) Acute profound dehydration; and 4) Acute esophageal foreign body.
"This was a mistake of unbelievable and unimaginable proportions," attorney Julia Yoo said. "He's the strongest person I have ever met," Yoo said. "As a result of his case, it's one of the primary reasons the DEA placed a nationwide policy that calls on each agent at satellite offices to check on the well-being of prisoners in their cells on a daily basis," Yoo said.
The case against the Drug Enforcement Administration was settled for $4.1 million.
Media Coverage
Daniel Chong, forgotten in DEA cell, settles suit for $4.1 million
CNN.com
August 1, 2013
A University of California San Diego student left unmonitored in a holding cell for five days by the Drug Enforcement Administration has settled a lawsuit for $4.1 million, his attorney said.
"This was a mistake of unbelievable and unimaginable proportions," attorney Julia Yoo said on Tuesday.
Student Left In DEA Cell For Days Reaches $4.1 Million Settlement
NPR
July 31, 2013
"What happened to Daniel Chong should never happen to any human being on the face of the planet," one his attorneys, Eugene Iredale, tells the Union-Tribune.
Student abandoned in prison cell gets $4.1m payout
The Guardian
July 31, 2013
A 25-year-old college student has reached a US$4.1m settlement with the US government after he was abandoned in a windowless cell for more than four days without food or water.
DEA Officials Responsible For Nearly Killing College Student, DOJ Watchdog Finds
Huffington Post
July 8, 2014
Julia Yoo, a lawyer who represented Chong in his settlement with the agency, said the summary “highlights the unacceptable and appalling failings of DEA, both systemic and individual.”
Man Left In Cell By DEA Given $4.1 Million
KPBS.org
July 30, 2013
The Inspector General for the Department of Justice is conducting an investigation into the incident. Iredale said that although the government has already determined there was no criminal wrongdoing, he hoped the Inspector General’s investigation would lead to an “appropriate administrative sanction” for those at fault.
DEA agents who left college student in cell for five days without food or water get just a slap on the wrist and seven day suspension
The Daily Mail
May 5, 2015
Eugene Iredale, an attorney for Chong, said, 'One could suggest in a case in which someone almost died as a result of some inexcusable neglect that a sanction of more than a week on the beach is appropriately called for.'
DEA agents who left college student in cell for five days without food or water get just a slap on the wrist and seven day suspension
The Daily Mail
May 5, 2015
Eugene Iredale, an attorney for Chong, said, 'One could suggest in a case in which someone almost died as a result of some inexcusable neglect that a sanction of more than a week on the beach is appropriately called for.'
Incarceration of Daniel Chong
Wikipedia.com
The incarceration of Daniel Chong was an incident in April 2012 in San Diego, California, when agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) accidentally left a detained student locked in a holding room and forgot he was there. The cell contained no food, water or bathroom facilities.[1] Five days later when he was found, he had to be hospitalized for several days for a variety of medical problems.