Original Blog Entry: Dad goes out for pack of smokes gets a body cavity search instead

truesee — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 04:57:29 GMT

Cops conducted illegal and humiliating body cavity search on me, Bronx man claims in suit

Rocco Parascandola

DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF

Wednesday, February 2nd 2011, 4:00 AM

Florescu for NewsShawn Schenck claims a cop reached inside his jeans to perform a body cavity search.

A Bronx man wrongly accused of dealing drugs at a bodega is suing the city because cops conducted an illegal body cavity search, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Shawn Schenck, 47, said he walked into the Green Valley Deli and Pizza on Sept. 15 to buy a pack of cigarettes.

Five cops burst into the store and arrested Schenck and four other men. One of the cops dragged Schenck outside and slipped on a rubber glove, the suit - expected to be filed Wednesday - charges.

Where's it at? one of the officers reportedly asked. Where's it at?

The cop reached inside Schenck's jeans, felt around his testicles and then probed his anus, the suit claims.

You're violating me! Schenck recalled screaming. You're violating me!

The humiliating search happened in front of about 40 people, Schenck said. Police didn't have a search warrant, which is required for body cavity probes.

Cops denied the rectal search, saying cops only frisked him.

Police didn't find any drugs on Schenck after he was busted at 158th St. and Park Ave. Still, he was in custody for three hours.

Deputy Inspector Kim Royster, a police spokeswoman, said a supervisor reviewed surveillance footage from the bodega that proved the married Bronx father of two wasn't part of the drug crew. Schenck was then released, Royster said.

Schenck, who served time in the late 1990s for a drug conviction, said no one deserves such treatment.

After what happened, people were looking at me sideways, he said. People were cracking jokes for like two months. This thing gave me a whole bunch of anxiety.

The NYPD's Patrol Guide was revised in 2008 after the state Court of Appeals court ruled police must have a warrant to execute the invasive searches - barring an emergency. That case involved a Harlem drug suspect. The indictment against him was dismissed.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/02/02/2011-02-02_exclusive_suing_city_for_violating_rights_bronx_man_claims_cop_probe_illegal.html#ixzz1CruDsQWi

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