Outrage as N.D. pot-using college student found dead after police turn him into drug informant

Andrew Sadek was found in a North Dakota river with a bullet in his head after he was threatened with 41 years in prison if he didn't become a drug informant after being caught selling a small amount of pot.

A year after the death of a college student in North Dakota who served as a police informant after allegedly being busted for weed, many are questioning police tactics when it comes to fighting the drug war.

Andrew Sadek’s body was found in a river with a bullet wound in his head, and his mother wonders how he ended up in the dangerous drug world — the truth, she said, is that he was coerced into becoming a confidential informant for the police after he was caught selling marijuana, according to an Associated Press report.

However, police say that Sadek knew what he was getting into and was not coerced into anything he wasn’t willing to be a part of.

People who knew Sadek said he was a “gentle soul” who enjoyed bowling and was interested in electricity, according to the report.

It’s not clear whether Sadek was killed or if he had committed suicide, as a gun that has the same caliber of bullet that killed him is missing from their family farm.

However, his body was found in the Red River and no gun was ever found.

A report released two and a half months ago concluded that the drug task force that recruited him didn’t act in any way that was inappropriate, but many are questioning the conclusion and the decision to convince young, minor drug offenders to participate as a drug informant in a very dangerous environment.

American Civil Liberties Union spokeswoman Jennifer Cook said that informants are being made to dangerous work but aren’t getting any training to do it, essentially being thrown into the field to fend for themselves, according to the report. She added that the safety risks that come with such a task can outweigh the benefits of doing it.

Sadek was just 20 years old and was an electrical technician student at the State College of Science in Wahpeton, North Dakota.

He was caught selling marijuana to a confidential informant in April 2013 — small transactions amounting to just $80 worth of drugs. But because they took place on a campus, they became felonies. After searching his dorm room in November of that year, they found a grinder with marijuana residue. Just a day later, officers revealed to Sadek that he was facing charges that could land him, a low level pot user, in jail for 41 years, far longer than most people convicted of murder. He quickly signed up to become a confidential informant.

The document that he signed, however, did not say how risky it was to become an informant. Civil rights advocates argue that Sadek should have been warned that he’s entering a world where he could end up dead.