War on Drugs

[xoxoxoBruce]

Utah knows how to fight the good fight.

Barbara Alice Mahaffey died of colon cancer in her bedroom last May. Ben D. Mahaffey, 80, said he was distraught and trying to make sure his wife's body would be taken to the funeral home with dignity, when he says officers insisted he help them look for the drugs.

"I was holding her hand saying goodbye when all the intrusion happened," he told the Deseret News.

Barbara Mahaffey died at 12:35 a.m. with Mahaffey, a Navy medic in the Korean War, and his friend, an EMT, at her side. In addition to police, a mortician and a hospice worker arrived at the home about 12:45 a.m., Mahaffey said. He said he doesn't know how police came to be there.

"I was indignant to think you can't even have a private moment. All these people were there and they're not concerned about her or me. They're concerned about the damn drugs. Isn't that something?" Mahaffey said.
~snip~

Following the incident, Mahaffey asked Vernal city officials and police administrators why officers would search his home without a warrant. He said he was told the Utah Controlled Substances Act provides authority for the search.
~snip~

That's an extraordinary violation of privacy," said Andrew Fackrell, Mahaffey's attorney.
Bassett declined to comment Thursday, saying the city had not yet seen the complaint.
Fackrell said there's nothing in the controlled substances act that allows police to enter a home and search for prescription drugs without a warrant.

It appears they're not only being dicks, they're doing it illegally.