A woman takes a painkiller after a hard day at work, and hours later finds herself detained for a positive drug test. Driver Katrin Mileva tells NOVA that she spent terrible hours in custody and was left without a license and a car for months, even though the official results prove she is innocent.
The woman demands class action lawsuit and law change to end practice of punishing people without proven guilt. And she tells how her case came about:
„I parked in front of my house, the car was off, the key was in my right hand. As I got out, I saw police officers. I gave them my documents, they tested me for alcohol and drugs. The first test was negative, but for drugs it showed that I had taken opiates. The check itself was illegal, since I was not driving. The attitude of the police officers was terrible. They told me “We have seen these circuses”. We stood there for two hours. They did not let me go to the toilet. Even the drive to the district police station was terrible. They drove at breakneck speed, I felt sick. I felt like we were going to hit something somewhere. They acted as if I were the biggest criminal. They took my hair elastics, my shoelaces, stripped me naked, made me squat to make sure I had not hidden drugs. Female police officers checked me. They told me that this was the procedure”.
Katrin Mileva spent 24 hours in custody.
”The cell was dark, gloomy with metal beds. It smelled of urine, there was garbage. I felt sick. Thanks to a young policeman who saw that I was not in a good condition, they gave me water that tasted like alcohol. I don't know why. Then they told me that there was no more water. All the detainees were shouted at. In 24 hours, they let me go to the toilet 3 times. They turned up the TV so that they wouldn't hear me calling them”, the woman also recounts the horror. She got her car after 11 months, and the car was in a miserable condition.
“I have given about 3000-4000 for repairs. In the meantime, my blood tests came out and they are negative”, Mileva also said.