Subject: Jim Klimek Story USA
Below is the story of what happened to Jim Klimek, a double amputee living in Tennessee in the USA. We would like to bring charges in the World Court or through the UN Human Rights Abuses people or Amnesty International against the officers that "raided" his home. Can you help us make his story public and find a way to bring chrages of "Torture" against Officer Mike "Sarge" Thompson of the DEA in Tennessee?
Thanks,
Skip Baker, President ASAP
The "Drug Raid" on Jim Klimek
By Skip Baker, President, American Society for Action on Pain, (757) 229-1840:
Here is the story that Jim Klimek related to me about what happened to him over his Pain Medication, along with information I've gathered from other sources.
One evening recently Jim Klimek of 522 Sawnee Street, Lafayette Tennessee, (615-666-4683) was "raided" by the 15th Jurisdictional District Drug Task Force, headed by Officer Mike "Sarge" Thompson, with their guns pointed at the two year old twins present, terrifying everybody in the house. He faxed me a copy of their "Warrant" which indicated they were looking for illegal drugs. They took all his bank records, vitamins, his inhaler and most importantly his prescription for Pain Medication. They asked him how he could have any pain, since he doesn't "have any legs." They also took $800 he had from selling one of his cars, leaving him with no money on hand. They took Julie outside and threatened her that if she didn't come up with information for them, they would take away her 2 year old grandchildren who were present, and she would never see them again until they were grown. They also told her they would put her pregnant daughter, who was there visiting from Nashville, in jail that very night if Julie would n
ot supply such information.
Despite this psychological torture, Julie refused to tell any falsehoods about Jim and told them to "do whatever you have to do, I'm not going to lie for you!" (See her statement at end). They then got into his safe and were disappointed to find only the title to a couple of cars, and some business cards. Evidently they were expecting to find a large cache of drugs and laundered money. Unable to get any "evidence" at the house, they then went to the jail and attempted to get testimony from Luther Tuttle Jr., in exchange for certain favors, such as making sure he would be able to get his "car back" which they had evidently taken from him either that night or at some other time. Luther also sat down and wrote out a statement for Jim as soon as the officers left, (Also at end). saying that he also refused to lie despite the fact they assured him that his name would never come up if he did. This "raid" ruined Jim's credit in town, and he is no longer able to buy lumber and building supplies on credit for his wor
kers when he is out or town, and is only able to buy supplies in cash.
Unfortunately, citizens "assume" that when a street has been filled with flashing blue lights and dogs are turned loose, the neighbor must surely be "guilty." On the other hand, some other merchants reacted just the other way, and told Jim his credit was good with them because they knew he had nothing to do with any illegal actions.
The next day I faxed a draft of a letter I've sent to the White House Drug Czar's Office about this incident to my doctor, who is also Jim's doctor. The doctor called me back and told me that the arresting officer had called him about the so called drug bust. "Do you have any evidence he's seeing another doctor?" asked Dr. Solomon (757-253-6451). "No" answered the officer. "Do you have any evidence he's selling his medication?" asked Dr. Solomon. "No" again, the officer said. This of course casts doubt on the original warrant, so the doctor said: "Then give the patient back his medication, he needs it!" It also shows us why such an officer would use such "terror tactics" to get false testimony from Julie and Luthor since they had "no evidence" in the first place. One wonders how many innocent Americans are in jails because of this officer and countless others like him across the country who can terrorize at will.
Jim says that when they returned his medication the next day, some of the pills were missing, and they asked him: "You know why we busted you don't you?" "Yes," said Jim "It was over my medication." "Oh no, we wanted your bank records" answered the officer. Since when is the DEA working for the IRS? The officer asked Jim if he was in a lot of pain, obviously relishing
the thought that he had inflicted the maximin amount of pain and suffering in this double amputee with no legs. Jim told him that they had misses some of his pills, and that's what he had taken during the night. Since Jim's type of medication leaves the body quickly, had they not have missed these pills, he would have had no choice but to have taken his own life during that night. He could have also died from the shock of having that kind of medication leaving his body all at once. He and I deal with what is known as "suicidal pain levels" every day of our lives, and the only thing keeping both of us alive is our pain medication. The fact that "police officers" are permitted to extort, torture and apply this kind of psychological pressure on innocent victims of Intractable Pain, is why we are losing 7000 innocent Americans to suicide each year, for lack of proper pain medication. Only the few have the money and can afford to go to Dr. Kevorkian. The others are penniless and must do the dastardly act on their
own, without the help of Kevorkian.
What Officer Mike "Sarge" Thompson didn't know when he "raided" Jim Klimek was that Dr. Solomon had sent Jim through the Pain Clinic at the Medical College of Virginia, to become an "approved pain patient" in order to protect the doctor's practice. Once a patient is "passed" in this "State Clinic" the Medical Board will not put the doctor 'on trial' for "over prescribing" medication for a severe pain patient. Thompson knew nothing of this "red tape" that Jim had gone through, and that the Pain Clinic had "cleared" Jim for 1000 Dilaudid pills per month. Jim used to be on much higher doses of pain killers when he was seeing Dr. William Hurwitz, the doctor who lost his license last year by the Virginia Medical Board. (See 60 Minutes article called PAIN KILLER for details).
Jim Klemik is Vice President of the American Society for Action on Pain, or ASAP as we call it: "Seeking Adequate Pain Medication for Those Who Need it!" The UNDER TREATMENT of pain, has become a "national disaster" according to one report by NIH, and many other Pain Professionals have realized that the best way to treat Non Cancer Intractable Pain, is with high doses of ongoing pain killers. The DEA tries to block access to there pain relievers. Why should Cancer patients be given adequate amounts of pain killers for their pain, when our pain is just as bad, and in many cases even worse? But the irony is that because of actions like Officer Thompson's and the DEA in general, most doctors who used to treat pain, have simply STOPPED, leaving a disaster of unimaginable scale. ASAP has flown Intractable Pain Patients thousands of miles to see pain doctors with the courage to treat their pain with adequate amounts of pain medication.
In one case, "Ginny" had been in pain for 11 years, and had actually "gotten permission" from her family to kill herself, when a kind donor gave us the money to fly her to Chicago to get help. Her pain is now under control, but it's only a matter of time before the DEA will be showing up on the doctor's doorstep, seeking to put him also out of business, which will result in even more lives being lost to the outrageous actions of this Agency.
Feeling we must do something about these abuses of government interference into the proper treatment of pain, one of our members, Marcia Bedard of ASAP, made arrangements for us to see a Congressman that her family knows very well. Yesterday, Jim and I met with him on Capitol Hill, and he promised not to let us down. When I pointed out that I felt it was "The Congress" that gave the DEA these "special powers" to override the Constitution and Bill of Rights, only the Congress can take it back through Congressional Hearings. He asked what committee would be the best to look into this matter "Health?" "NO!" was my reply, feeling that "Government Oversight" would be a much better Committee since this is really NOT a "health" issue in the general sense of the term, but a matter of "Human Rights Abuses, Torture and Violations of the Constitution and other Abuse of Office" that should be punished. Nobody should be allowed to bust into an innocent man's home, with NO evidence of wrongdoing, and cause the trauma they
caused Jim Klimek. We know of cases where Pain Patients have been arrested for showing up at a Drug Store, and thrown in jail for trying to fill a valid prescription. The situation is far worse out there than anyone can imagine, and the public is just not aware of how out of control the DEA has truly become. Unless we expose this evil, nobody will be safe in the future.
It's my feeling that the DEA has made such widespread abuse of their powers that the public is fed up with these gestapo like tactics, and if we can bring pain patients to testify before a Congressional Hearing that is televised on C-SPAN, only then will the public see the full scale of these abuses. We need to have individual Officers charged not only with Human Rights Abuses, but outright "Torture" such as that they sought to inflict on Jim Klimek. The next day officer Thompson even asked him how much pain he was in, showing his disregard for Pain Patients. His body is amputated at the belt line, yet he works hard to make a living and most of that work goes to pay for his medication each year. It's time that we guaranteed every Intractable Pain Patient in the country not only ADEQUATE PAIN MEDICATION, but PROTECTION from one of the worst Agencies ever conceived in the mind of man: The DEA.
The Congress created this monster, and only The Congress and the Media can now deal with it by telling the truth about these "raids" on innocent Americans. How is it that when the local paper down there in Tennessee showed the years worth of "Drug Busts" in a photograph the photograph showed a tiny fraction of what one would read about in the yearly reports in the court records? Where ARE the other "drugs" that were supposedly taken over the course of the year? OR, is the Drug Task Force simply "planting" the same baggies in each "drug raid" when they are unable to find anything else in a house? And WHY was some of Jim's medication missing when the officers returned his medication the next day? What can we infer from this "raid" on Jim Klimek?
1. They had "no" evidence when they raided his house?
2. They used "Emotional Distress" attempting to obtain some once there?
3. They need "no real proof" in order to do this to anybody?
4. No affidavit or statement by them, can be trusted to be true?
5. They can manufacture "evidence" through Human Rights Violations?
6. They are permitted to apply physical TORTURE, in America?
They didn't even understand the significance of the letter from the Pain Clinic at the Medical College of Virginia, as the instrument that proves Jim is "an approved pain patient" and is entitled to this amount of medication monthly. Since the bottle of pills they took said "200 of 1000" one officer couldn't understand what this meant, asking "where are the rest of the pills?" Jim had to explain to the officer that this meant the pharmacy still owed 800 pills that were on back order. Why should people with such poor understanding of medical terminology, be out there ordering doctors around and putting them out of business? This is why most good pain specialists have quit the field, and we have so few pain specialists that are willing to use the ONLY thing that works to treat pain: Pain Medication.
The story of what happened to Jim Klimek is going to go down in history as "The raid that brought the DEA to account." I know myself that Jim is still under medicated at 1000 pills per month, as he's had this horrific pain to deal with for 29 years, and over the decades the body becomes acclimated to higher doses. Yet there's absolutely NOTHING WRONG with giving the patient this higher dose, as that's WHAT IT TAKES TO CONTROL THE PAIN! Why it this fact so hard to understand among the population who is not yet familiar with pain? Any reader could be hit by a drunk driver and become a Chronic Pain Patient tomorrow, and only then discover down the road they'd have only two choices:
1. End one's own life or,
2. Find a doctor willing to treat pain with adequate medication.
3. Go to the Streets for "Drugs" as some doctors have suggested, telling the patient if they help them medically, they will lose their practice to the DEA!
Since 2 is very hard to find and 3 can land you in jail, we fear the DEA is going to "go after" the list of Pain Doctors that was taken from Jim's house. Will that mean the "Street Dealer" is going to become the only means of Pain Control in America? Many pain organizations use this list to find doctors for Intractable Pain Patients on the verge of suicide, and if the Congress or the White House doesn't intervene and stop this "nation wide raid" on our doctors, many thousands of Americans are going to be forced to either take their own lives, or turn to the "Streets for Drugs."
It's as though the DEA WANTS America to promote "Street Drugs!" Why? This was NOT a problem before the "Drug War."
Despite the AMA's announcement on "Pain: How to Stop the Agony" made at their Press Conference in New York today, nothing was said of this urgent priority on today's national news broadcasts!
Below are the statements that Julie Kelley and Luther Tuttle Jr. wrote out when this "raid" took place. This testimony, along with what Officer Mike "Sarge" Thompson told Dr. Solomon, proves that they had "no evidence" when they conducted this raid on an innocent man. All Americans should be outraged over this "raid."
Julie A. Kelley's Statement follows:
"6/25/97
"While James Klimek's house was being raided, the police took me out back and told me that if I didn't tell the[m] James was selling "drugs" that they (the police) [Officer] Mike Sarge Thompson [and Officer] Dallas said they were going to call DHS and have my granddaughters Kara & Krista age 2 (twins) to juvenile, and my pregnant daughter to jail and I wouldn't see them again, until they were grown. I told them I wasn't going to lie, and say James sold drugs because I'd NEVER seen James sell anything."
"They held my daughter Latisha Wilson at the house and wouldn't let her leave with the babies. She started crying and I finally talked them into letting her go. She and the kids were visiting from Nashville." [Innocent bystanders!]
"Thanks"
"Julie A. Kelley."
_____________________________________
Luther Tuttle Jr.'s Statement follows:
"6:30 P.M. [Flush right]
July 1, 1997 [Flush right]
"On the 26 of June Detective Jerry Dallas and other officer, can't remember his name, questioned me about raiding Jim Klimek residence in Macon County Tennessee they said seize a large amount of Dilillud and some marijuana.
and a 64 Plymouth which belongs to me Luther Tuttle Jr. they said it didn't have a vent number. I told Mr. Dallas who I bought the car from and I hada clear title. Mr. Dallas said that he would see that I would get my car back if I would name some people supposedly dealing with Mr. Klimek."
"Mr. Dallas said that Jim Klimek said that while I lived and worked for him that I stoled his medication and selling it they also said that I wouldn't work or help around the house and he had to run me off. They also said they had the above statment on tape which they could not produce. Jerry Dallas named Angie East, Pam & Danny Kelley and Billy Cook that's when I knew they were lieing, [sic] Angie East and Pam and Danny Kelley were not aloud on his property."
"They tried to trick me into naming some names they said if I would tell on some people that Mr. Klimek was dealing with that my name would never be brought up. When I refused they left."
"Luther Tuttle Jr."
