© 2024
NPR for Northern Colorado
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Student Left And Forgotten In Holding Cell For Five Days Gets Apology

By Mark Memmott
Published May 2, 2012 at 12:40 PM MDT

Daniel Chong, a California college senior who " was left alone in a federal holding cell for five days with no food or water," now at least has an apology from the Drug Enforcement Adminstration.

That likely won't make up for having to drink his urine to survive, as Chong spoke of to reporters on Tuesday.

Chong is a University of California, San Diego, senior engineering student. According to Fox5SanDiego.com, he "was detained for questioning along with eight other people during an April 21 raid in which agents seized guns, ammunition and various drugs."

Chong, who faces no charges related to the raid, says he suffered hallucinations during the five days. "I was completely insane," he said Tuesday, according to The San Diego Union Tribune. No one heard his shouts for help.

At one point, Chong said, he tried to commit suicide by cutting his wrists with the broken shards of his eyeglasses.

Today, The Associated Press reports, "DEA San Diego Acting Special Agent-In-Charge William R. Sherman said in a statement that he was troubled by the treatment of Daniel Chong and extended his 'deepest apologies' to him."

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
NPR News California
Mark Memmott
Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
See stories by Mark Memmott
Related Content
  • Calif. City Debates Location Of Stone Head
    Covina, Calif., received a gift from its former sister city in Mexico: a seven-ton Olmec head. It sat in front of the police department for years, until the police needed the space for a memorial. The head is in a maintenance yard while officials decide where to put it.
  • NPR News
    The L.A. Riots, As A Neighbor Remembers It
    Karen Grigsby Bates
    Twenty years ago Sunday, Los Angeles erupted into destructive riots after the verdict in the Rodney King trial. The violence lasted six days and left more than 50 dead and over $1 billion in damage. NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates remembers; she lived in the one of the neighborhoods that went up in flames.
  • Dr. Mitch Katz rides his bike to work, defying the commuting norm in Los Angeles.
    NPR News
    Los Angeles Bets On Crusading Doctor To Turn Around Public Health System
    Sarah Varney, KQED
    Los Angeles has some 2 million uninsured residents. It has long had one of the most disorganized public health systems, too. Now, Dr. Mitch Katz is looking to reshape the system and match patients with their own doctors.
Load More