Stopping police asset-forfeiture predators

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Long overdue reform of a tool the police have been using to turn themselves into the very same criminals they are supposed to be protecting us from.

When the public is more afraid of the cops than the bad guys, the system is broken. There’s reason for some law-abiding Americans to worry about their pocketbook becoming lighter after a visit from the lawman. Bonnie and Clyde never pretended to be anything but robbers.

A 64-year-old Texas woman, for example, was accused of being a drug dealer simply because she was carrying cash in her pickup truck from the sale of her land. The cops took her money, though she had never been convicted of a crime in her life. She had to sue in federal court to get all of her money back.

A family grocery store in Michigan was threatened by the IRS for “money laundering” because they handled money in the way their insurance policy required. Car owners giving friends a lift in New York City suffer their vehicles seized because the Taxi Commission thinks they’re operating an illegal cab.

Outrages like these have happened in every state in the union. Civil asset forfeiture is popular among law enforcement because it’s a lucrative racket. Concepts like innocent until proven guilty, due process and other constitutional rights don’t apply. The victims are left with nothing but frustration, disappointment and rage.

EDITORIAL: Stopping police asset-forfeiture predators - Washington Times

 

[theDoctorisIn]

Something like 75% of American paper currency has traces of illegal drugs on it.

Any time you're carrying a lot of cash, the police can seize it claiming that it's "associated" with the drug trade.