Questionable Cash Seizures by Police: This makes me nervous

[Dr. Cheese]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=91555835

I heard this story on NPR this evening. It is the sort of thing that should worry Americans. Having spent time in Africa, having your money taken by the police for no charge is the kind of thing I would expect in corrupt Third World nations, not the United States of America.

[Masher88]

Looks like it is "Guilty Until Proven Innocent"

Good thing there are civil rights lawyers.

[tplyons]

Note to self: carry no more than $20 in wallet.

[Dr. Cheese]

What gets me is that many people are suspicious of banks or did not grow up using them. It also seems to me that the people pulled over largely looked like they were guilty of looking like young minority men. The police know that young minority men fear the police and want to avoid getting arrested in some cow town where they will be presumed guilty by local folks who know the cop but don't know them, and these young men usually don't have the resources to hire a lawyer and are often just happy to get out of said cow town with their freedom.

[peterbright]

Amazing.

[JonathanD]

I don't have words for this.
I am almost twitching.If a police officer(or anyone) tried to take that much cash from me I would be resisting. And my resistance would get me in jail. That is robbery. WOW
One step forward for government kind, one large leap backwards for everyone else.

[Stumbo]

I remember reading about the passing of the Asset Forfeiture law back in 1987.
I predicted this would happen. Imo, unless you have resources to hire an attorney, no one is safe in America.

[FL Knifemaker]

It seems odd to carry that much cash and not have the sense or resources to get lawyer involved.

Every police agency must answer to an internal affairs deparment that reports to the state. One or two complaints about something like this would set off lots of alarms. Maybe it was Mackey and his task force from "The Shield"

I'm not saying that the the police aren't at fault but if you don't know how the system works...............

[casualmadness]

That really sucks. I heard about this on NPR today as I was driving into work. But I didn't catch the whole story. Like the OP, I've traveled in some third world countries where this kind of thing is normal. I've even been in some countries where the local police will arrest you for no reason but then tell you that if you give them everything in your wallet you can go free. But you never expect this type of thing to happen in our own back yard.

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

It seems odd to carry that much cash and not have the sense or resources to get lawyer involved.

Every police agency must answer to an internal affairs deparment that reports to the state. One or two complaints about something like this would set off lots of alarms. Maybe it was Mackey and his task force from "The Shield"

I'm not saying that the the police aren't at fault but if you don't know how the system works...............

Actually a few of these departments are being investigated by the federal government, and all three cases mentioned in the story were or are being handled by attorneys. As for knowing to get a lawyer, if the police take all the money you have, how can you pay for one? Fortunately, two of the men who lost their money were self-employed and had resources. What worries me is a person who is moving to a new state or is a laborer and the police take all that person has. Knifemaker, everybody does not know the system. The system should have enough integrity not to rob them.

[fenderhutz]

There is no reason in this day and age to actually carry that much cash on you period. With ATM's everywhere and almost everyone takes credit cards I can see why it MIGHT be plausible if I am carrying more than ten 100 dollar bills someone might get suspicious.

At home I do keep some cash hidden, but never carry it around. Too risky even if the cops DON'T get involved.

People get killed for less than 100 bucks now-a-days.

I expect it getting much worse before it gets better with all of these "cowboys" in law enforcement that are allowed more freedoms with things such as the Patriot Act. Not to get politcial.

[FL Knifemaker]

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

Actually a few of these departments are being investigated by the federal government, and all three cases mentioned in the story were or are being handled by attorneys. As for knowing to get a lawyer, if the police take all the money you have, how can you pay for one? Fortunately, two of the men who lost their money were self-employed and had resources. What worries me is a person who is moving to a new state or is a laborer and the police take all that person has. Knifemaker, everybody does not know the system. The system should have enough integrity not to rob them.

Good points but again, common sense should come into play. Carrying tons of cash puts you in a position to be robbed by anyone. It would cost almost nothing to open a bank account and transfer the money risk free. I'm a white guy, know plenty of cops and lawyers, carry a gun and I wouldn't carry that much cash around. Hell, I deposit my knife show cash in Atlanta so I don't have to carry it to Florida

[steve21]

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

Good points but again, common sense should come into play. Carrying tons of cash puts you in a position to be robbed by anyone. It would cost almost nothing to open a bank account and transfer the money risk free. I'm a white guy, know plenty of cops and lawyers, carry a gun and I wouldn't carry that much cash around. Hell, I deposit my knife show cash in Atlanta so I don't have to carry it to Florida

Well, yeah, carrying tons of cash puts you in a position to get robbed, but you'd hope not by the police...

[RWP]

But what really got their attention was the $5,581 Hunt had stuffed in his pockets, which he said was the weekend profits from his car-detailing business.

Wow, where do I sign up for THAT gig?

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

Good points but again, common sense should come into play. Carrying tons of cash puts you in a position to be robbed by anyone. It would cost almost nothing to open a bank account and transfer the money risk free. I'm a white guy, know plenty of cops and lawyers, carry a gun and I wouldn't carry that much cash around. Hell, I deposit my knife show cash in Atlanta so I don't have to carry it to Florida

I'm physically about as black as one can get but I was raised in a family that maintained a bank account, and as soon as I started earning money, I opened an account. It is rare that I have more than $150-$200 on my person although given gas prices, that is really next to nothing nowadays.

My point is that people who weren't raised within the "mainstream" of society often do not know how one is "supposed" to act. If bank accounts were more common in the hood, 90% of those legalized loanshark check cashing and payday loan places would be out of business tomorrow.

The problem is that when a person from a rough background has managed to earn some money and is treated like a thief and robbed by the government, it really has the potential to make a person question whether the effort involved in a honest living is worth it.

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by RWP

But what really got their attention was the $5,581 Hunt had stuffed in his pockets, which he said was the weekend profits from his car-detailing business.

Wow, where do I sign up for THAT gig?

Do you really think $5,581 is that much money for a small business over a weekend? On top of that, do you think he would make that evey weekend? It might have been a payday weekend.

I bet knifemaker hauling in $5,581 after the BLADE show in Atlanta would not really be clearing that much money. Th arrticles called the money profits, but I suspect it might have been his gross.

Seriously, I hope the man has learned to get a money pouch and make night deposits after his experience.

[Eric Perry]

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

...The system should have enough integrity not to rob them.

Originally Posted by steve21

Well, yeah, carrying tons of cash puts you in a position to get robbed, but you'd hope not by the police...

+1 on both accounts.

[ubado]

Besides this being literally "highway robbery" .... IDKW but I don't find this alarming .... cops taking advantage/robbing minorities has been going on for decades!

What I find absolutely appalling is...

"I think every year we've bought three to four vehicles, all of our equipment, guns, high-powered rifles, all bought with forfeiture funds."

IMO ... this is total BS! Instead of using the money to fund themselves .... how about putting it into state/local programs to help areas of low income minorities (which are statistically the areas most hurt by drug use). It makes me wonder where else this money is going ... Friday Pizza Parties maybe.

[FL Knifemaker]

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

I'm physically about as black as one can get but I was raised in a family that maintained a bank account, and as soon as I started earning money, I opened an account. It is rare that I have more than $150-$200 on my person although given gas prices, that is really next to nothing nowadays.

My point is that people who weren't raised within the "mainstream" of society often do not know how one is "supposed" to act. If bank accounts were more common in the hood, 90% of those legalized loanshark check cashing and payday loan places would be out of business tomorrow.

The problem is that when a person from a rough background has managed to earn some money and is treated like a thief and robbed by the government, it really has the potential to make a person question whether the effort involved in a honest living is worth it.

Common sense and wisdom should be commensurate with the amount of money one earns. If that's out of balance, then there might be a problem I lost an entire paycheck once, using a night deposit box. The common sense/money thing was out of balance. Guess what?? .......I never did that again

[Brad Johnson]

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

It seems odd to carry that much cash and not have the sense or resources to get lawyer involved.

Every police agency must answer to an internal affairs deparment that reports to the state. One or two complaints about something like this would set off lots of alarms. Maybe it was Mackey and his task force from "The Shield"

I'm not saying that the the police aren't at fault but if you don't know how the system works...............

Based on my personal interactions with lawyers, it doesn't seem at all odd.

And the system works in many ways... and not all of them protect the innocent.