A U.S. Court of Appeals Shoots DEA Agent's Foot Case down

A U.S. Court of Appeals has taught a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent two important rules.

DEA Agent In Foot Shoot Suit

Seeks damages for distribution of humiliating gun accident video

A U.S. Court of Appeals has taught a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent two important rules. Rule 1: when demonstrating gun safety to a group of kids, do not shoot yourself in the leg. Rule 2: do not let anybody record a video of you violating Rule 1.
During an April 9, 2004 presentation to a group of children and their parents on the dangers of illegal drugs, an undercover DEA agent pulled out his DEA-issued pistol and told the audience that firearms should be handled only by professionals like himself, when according to court documents, he accidentally shot himself in the thigh.

With the DEA agent's knowledge, one of the parents had video-recorded the entire presentation, including the accidental shooting. The parent turned the hour-long Mini-DV video over to DEA agents who soon arrived to investigate the incident.

Well, you can probably guess what happened to the "smoking video" once it made it back to DEA headquarters. Several copies were made. While some of the copies were properly sent to appropriate DEA officials involved in the investigation, "a few" additional copies were not so properly sent to various "friends" associated with the DEA.

After a shortened, 4-minute, 9-second (4:09) version of the video featuring the shooting incident began showing up on the Internet and on the DEA's internal email system, the "star" DEA agent filed suit against the DEA, charging that the agency had violated the Privacy Act and Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).

Among other things, the Privacy Act gives individuals the right to sue the U.S. government for allowing unauthorized access to their personal information.

With some exceptions, the Federal Tort Claims Act makes the United States government liable for injuries resulting from negligent or willfully wrongful acts or omissions by any federal employee committed while acting in their official capacity, in accordance with the laws of the state where the wrongful act or omission took place. "Injuries" under the FTCA can include physical, emotional and economic harm.

Both a lower district court and now the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia sided with the DEA.

In its decision, the Court of Appeals agreed with the district court that the release of the 4:09 version of the video did not violate the Privacy Act because it was not an "intentional or willful" act, and because the video had not been taken from an established government "system of records."



In finding that the video had not been taken from a system of government records, the appeals court stressed that the DEA agent was not identified in the video. "In addition, at no point was the 4:09 video retrievable or retrieved by Paige's name or other identifying particular," wrote the court.

The court also dismissed the DEA agent's claim that the DEA had violated the Federal Tort Claims Act because the incident occurred in a public place and because the DEA agent knew he was being video-recorded at the time.

Not all good for the DEA: While it sided with the DEA, the court of appeals sternly criticized the agency for its mishandling of the incident.

"The widespread circulation of the accidental discharge video demonstrates the need for every federal agency to safeguard video records with extreme diligence in this internet age of iPhones and YouTube with their instantaneous and universal reach," wrote the court. "The DEA's treatment of the video-recording--particularly the creation of so many different versions and copies--undoubtedly increased the likelihood of disclosure and, although not an abuse of a system of records, is far from a model of agency treatment of private data."  source:

APRIL 11--A Drug Enforcement Administration agent who stars in a popular online video that shows him shooting himself in the foot during a weapons demonstration for Florida children is suing over the tape's release, claiming that his career has been crippled and he's become a laughingstock due to the embarrassing clip's distribution.

Lee Paige, 45, blames the video's release on DEA officials in an April 7 federal lawsuit filed against the U.S. government. A copy of the pro se complaint by Paige, a DEA agent since 1990, can be found here.

According to the lawsuit, Paige was making a "drug education presentation" in April 2004 to a Florida youth group when his firearm (a Glock .40) accidentally discharged. The shooting occurred moments after Paige told the children that he was the only person in the room professional enough to carry the weapon.

The accident was filmed by an audience member, and the tape, Paige claims, was turned over to the DEA. The drug agency, he charges, subsequently "improperly, illegally, willfully and/or intentionally" allowed the tape to be disseminated.

As a result, Paige--pictured at left in a still from the video--has been the "target of jokes, derision, ridicule, and disparaging comments" directed at him in restaurants, grocery stores, and airports. Paige, who writes that he was "once regarded as one of the best undercover agents, if not the best, in the DEA," points to the clip's recent airing on popular television shows and via the Internet as the reason he can no longer work undercover. He also notes that he is no longer "permitted or able to give educational motivational speeches and presentations."