A shocking viral video showing a team of police entering and then searching the hospital room of man with stage 4 pancreatic cancer is fueling outrage in Bolivar, Missouri, where the incident took place and is renewing nation-wide debate over medical marijuana.
Multiple police officers initiated an unconsented surprise search on terminally ill patient Nolan Sousley’s hospital room on March 6 after hospital staff claimed he was using unauthorized medical marijuana. “If we find marijuana we’ll give you a citation, we’re not taking you down to the county jail,” said one officer, caught on Sousley’s cell phone video searching through his belongings. Sousley said, referencing hospital staff, “they already told me I’m gonna get arrested.”
According to a local Fox affiliate Sousley had actually been “in the middle of a chemotherapy treatment at Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar” before local officers raided the room, apparently with the cooperation of unnamed hospital staff.
Though it’s unclear exactly what the hospital thought was happening in the room, according to Newsweek, “The officer said that the department had received a call from someone who said they smelled weed coming from Sousley’s room.” Officers ultimately found no marijuana or any illegal substance during the search, but did reportedly find CBD Oil (Cannabidiol oil), which is legal.
“If we find marijuana we’ll give you a citation,” an officer threatened as another family member tried to plead with police, saying Sousley’s extreme pain means that doctors allow him a variety of medications. Sousley denied smoking marijuana or ingesting ground-up plants, but acknowledged he uses THC containing capsules for pain management.
The family was visibly upset at the spectacle of multiple police rifling through the sick man’s things. “It’s the only choice I got to live, man,” Sousley told the officers in the video. “We’re Americans. I was born here, it’s my right to live.”
Watch the shocking police search of a cancer patient’s hospital room below:
A stage 4 cancer patient's hospital room is searched by police for marijuana. Nolan, the patient, told the hospital and doctors about using THC capsules in place of prescribed opioids. This is why we need to legalize cannabis now. pic.twitter.com/h1OZVtqqFx
— MassRoots (@MassRoots) March 8, 2019
Things got tense when officers demanded to search a bag that Sousley said was filled with his medications and end of life related personal items. He said didn’t want police to “dig through that,” according to the video. “It has my final-day things in there, and nobody’s gonna dig in it,” Sousley said. “It’s my stuff.”
“My final hour stuff is in that bag” — he pleaded, but officers still insisted, and then proceeded to search through it.
Ironically Missouri voters late last year voted to legalize medical marijuana, a law which has yet to take effect (until July 4, 2019). USA Today presents one of the more outrageous moments of the video where police actually acknowledge this, but shrug it off and say “then it’s still illegal”, below:
At one point in the video, Sousley references the legal status of medical cannabis in the state. Last November, Missouri voters overwhelmingly chose to create a medical cannabis system, but the state will not be taking any applications for cannabis patient ID cards until July 4.
Referencing marijuana, Sousley says in the video “medically in Missouri, it’s really legal now. They just they haven’t finished the paperwork.”
“Okay, then it’s still illegal,” one of the officers replies.
“But I don’t have time to wait for that,” Sousley says “What would you do?”
The officer says he refuses to engage in “what if” games.
Halfway through the video a doctor enters the room — apparently unaware that other hospital staff had called 911 on suspicions of marijuana use — to try to assess the situation, and asks if the police have probable cause to search the patient’s things. “Do you have the right to search his stuff?” the doctor questions.
The police admit, “we haven’t found any marijuana yet so we’re not citing him.”
Following the incident, according to local reports, “Bolivar City Attorney Donald Brown said the city and the police chief are investigating the incident.” The police department involved is now receiving various threats over the now viral video: “But Bolivar police said the department is getting threats since the video has been shared nearly 7,000 times on Facebook.”
As for the hospital, a representative issued the following statement: “It is also our policy to call appropriate law enforcement any time hospital personnel see or reasonably suspect illegal drug use in patient rooms or otherwise on campus,” however, it’s as yet unclear exactly what hospital staff was alleging.
According to information provided by the family on Facebook, Sousley was informed he had pancreatic cancer starting in May of 2018, after he had been admitted to the hospital for jaundice and a blockage. Just before the March 6th incident, Sousley had been admitted after experiencing fevers, chills and sweats “to the point of drenching his bed,” according to family members.
2019 AMERICA! FUCK YEAH! https://t.co/02dw45dtNu
— Jimmy Dore (@jimmy_dore) March 9, 2019
But also ironic, and outrageous, is that it was the hospital itself that called 911 on Sousley on mere suspicion that he could have been using pain-controlling marijuana related substances.
One might also reasonably assume that the police had real criminals they could have been pursuing instead of launching a multiple officer invasive search of a cancer patient’s belongings.
At one point the doctor even tried to diffuse the situation by asking the police to vacate the room and perhaps conduct any search of bags in the hallway with the patient’s permission, to which they refused.
Near the end of the video the doctor can be heard telling Sousley after consulting with police to stop the “live” recording, or else “nobody’s going to help you out if you do this”.
Welcome to America in 2019, apparently.
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agreed iska,nip it in the bud–
maryjuaner is known as a gateway drug,it’s not harmless–today pot,tomorrow an iv drip 4 pain–
barney was like most visionaries, not appreciated by his contemporaries–
Pancreatic cancer is pretty aggressive. With probably very little time left on this planet, that guy was within his rights to call those cops despicable dicks with badges, on a power trip, to enforce the letter of the law, simply because they were dispatched.
Berate that jar head and his ‘team’. They have no compassion. Real tough. You got the perp there. Heroes?
Here’s hoping the viral video causes them to hang their heads in shame, reprimand the enforcers, and suffer the wrath of the community.
When I was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s it was commonly heard how there was a flaw in the German bloodline that made them more prone to nazi behavior. Bullshit. Muricans like these fucking armed government thugs would fit snugly in the Gestapo.
The largest ethnic group in America is Germans.
More than Brits? Doesn’t sound right.
Especially in the south … mainly english.
The biggest group of all in America are dumb asses!
+100,plus they’re outproducing the rest of us–
Brilliant police work, boys, perhaps you should apply to Broward Co. and join their force of experts. I hear Sheriff Israel could use a few more pros just like yourselves. Your entire dept deserves as much adverse reaction as you get. Have a nice day.
fyi–
israel was suspended a month or so back by the new governor–
Let me preface my remarks by saying I support law enforcement; their’s is a tough job. The police in my neck of the woods are professional, courteous and assets to the community and keep it quite safe.
That said:
At least they didn’t have their weapons drawn, holding all the “suspects” at gunpoint.
At least they didn’t have a warrant thereby holding all the “suspects” under violation of the Fourth Amendment.
At least the Bolivar P.D. does have the human resources and time to ensure that the community is safe from an obviously dangerous felon – stage four pancreatic cancer and all.
And where is the ubiquitous immense Negro woman nurse who always prevents one’s visit even tho’ it is normal visiting hours?
Another question I have is would the police have gone into I.C.U. to jack up the “thug”?
How about a surgical operating theatre?
Whoever made the initial complaint call to the police needs to be identified, jacked-up, and then sued (if not also given a serious well-deserved beating.)
I DON’T support “law enforcement” because of things like this. Police work is NOT dangerous. There are many other occupations that are more hazardous.
your last line is the money shot–
like it or not,if the cops dismiss complaints about law breaking it’s an iffy situation–
the person in the hospital needs an ass kicking–
btw,careful what you say in front of anyone in the medical field,even the receptionist–most people in hospitals/any medical provider are mandatory reporters–when my dad had his stent replacement in 2015 my sister raised hell because he wanted to go home & she wanted him to go to her house–she thinks she’s the family caretaker but then she becomes overwhelmed–
one of the nurses who she ranted to called the tip line at the dept children & families–the next thing you know elder abuse investigators are trying to investigate dad & his house–i had already brought dad to my house & nobody knew where he was,as i only answer my cell phone so when they called me i said i was on the other side of town–i kept him here for a few days while my brother cleaned his house,then met the investigator at dad’s house–he talked to dad,walked thru the house,then dropped the case but it could have been much worse–
remember,loose lips separate families–
Amen… it was a nurse at the hospital who alerted social services in Cleveland who alerted state authorities who apparently, under certain circumstances, can seize assets of elderly patients without competent authority on record. In other words, if you don’t pick your Power of Attorney for yourself, the State can decide they are the ones best suited to dispose of your assets in your best interest.
Get your legal ducks in line.
How bout a little shout out to the unnamed medical staffer who called the cops? Hopefully any resident who was an actual victim of a real crime art the time of the search, sues. Never understood the conservative love affair with cops.
A couple decades ago, a man dying with terminal bone cancer was given a placebo instead of morphine because the chief nurse didn’t believe in using it due to possible addiction.
We don’t want a bunch of junkies in heaven lying around on the gold streets pissing themselves. Think about it. Nip it.
Born Free. Hounded to Death by bureaucrats and their petty functionaries. When will it be enough for these soul-less ghouls?
I’m hoping that cop and his associates along with the hospital staff all die an agonizing death from cancer as well as all of their loved ones. Fuck those motherfuckers.
Serving and protecting. Riiiiiiight.
I’ve said it numerous times and I’ll say it again; government controlled policing needs to be ended and policing opened up to the free market where it must meet the stringent and demanding requirements of competition and reputation. Then and only then will this disgusting, brutal and inhuman behavior shown time and time again all across the slave plantation known as the USSA cease. Low IQ and immoral, soulless human beings like those cops wouldn’t stand a chance of being hired and if they were would be fired in an instant after pulling a stunt like that.
Actually, that sounds like an interesting idea.
Worst case here should have been, the cops respond to the call and after hearing whatever additional info the hospital provided should have told them, uh, we’re not going to pursue this any further.
As a police Officer so incapable of exercising any level of discerssion with an obviously dying man clinging to life using any means necessary is pathetic . His excuse I’m sure will be just doing my job . These are the law enforcement types who will find themselves on trial Nuremberg style with a dumb astonished look on their face !
And, any investigation by Internal Affairs at the department will find all actions by all law enforcement officials were justified and in compliance with department policy.
i’m not so down on the cop here as ya’ll are–if he received a general complaint as in”…i’m smelling pot somewhere at the south end of the 4th floor,possibly rm 415…”, he could just duck his head in & say that,”… someone smelled pot somewhere around here,did you smell it?”,then move on–
a specific complaint about a specific person in a specific location might get him in trouble if he ignored it–
our real complaint is w/the person who reported it & the system itself–
Cops are chosen because they are smart enough to enforce the law but not question what they are doing. There is a conflict between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law that they don’t understand.
Really strange thinking/actions about a plant. If it was somehow harming anyone else? Make Marijuana legal, take it off being a class 1 drug. It’s a herb and benefit from the taxes. Reduce our prison system and stop stupid stuff like in the article.
This is why it is best to keep one’s head down in Misery. The policemen are local boys doing what the mayor says to do.
Usually.
From the article:
Ironically Missouri voters late last year voted to legalize medical marijuana, a law which has yet to take effect (until July 4, 2019). USA Today presents one of the more outrageous moments of the video where police actually acknowledge this, but shrug it off and say “then it’s still illegal”…
That makes as much sense as getting put on the ground for disobeying an order, when the order violates one’s civil rights. One learns to keep one’s head down. Don’t they, Holly?
My level of disgust toward these people knows no bounds.
I owe them nothing but scorn and contempt.
Soulless drones enforcing Administrative Law; a form of law with no values in it. Our entire Criminal Justice System is corrupted by it.
Our entire police force once was made up of peace officers. Now they are law enforcement officers. This attracts the worst personalities that thrive on bullying people. Many people still do not believe there are bad police officers until their lives meet up with them in real life circumstances.
https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/denver-police-officer-investigation-incident-arrested-suspect-61582929