Here Are The Ridiculous Things Cops Bought With Cash 'Seized' From Americans

[xchrom]

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-police-bought-with-civil-forfeiture-2014-10

***SNIP

The military gear includes an armored personnel carrier costing $227,000 in Douglasville, Ga. as well as a $1 million mobile command bus in Prince George's County, Maryland and a $5 million helicopter for Los Angeles cops.

Then there the more frivolous things civil forfeiture cash buys, like a $637 coffee maker for cops in Amarillo, Texas and $5,300 worth of “challenge coin” medallions in Brunswick County, North Carolina.

Perhaps the oddest purchase was $225 spent on a clown in Reminderville, Ohio meant to improve relations between the community and police. Here's how Chief Jeff Buck defended that purchase to the Post: “The money I spent on Sparkles the Clown is a very, very minute portion of the forfeited money that I spend in fighting the war on drugs.”

This isn't just a matter of police being fiscally irresponsible. They're being irresponsible with cash that may very well have been seized from innocent people.

The Washington Post examined 43,000 reports on asset seizures dating back to 2008, which reported $2.5 billion in spending from these seizures. According to the Post's analysis, 81% of that spending came from seizures in which the property or cash owners were never indicted.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-police-bought-with-civil-forfeiture-2014-10#ixzz3GD92u29A

[demwing]

1. K&R. /nt

[TexasProgresive]

2. When property is seized from innocent people

it is almost impossible to get it returned. For some reason property come under different legal standards and is guilty until proven innocent which is a hard row to hoe. This is something that needs to be addressed. The only "downside" I can see would be the loss of important P.D. high end coffee pots.

[KansDem]

11. "...the loss of important P.D. high end coffee pots."

Don't forget "high-end" donuts!

Rich cop...



Poor cop...

[rgbecker]

3. This is another move buy the police protected banks to make sure...

people use banking services. Make it clear that the "Cast Economy" can't safely exist.

The police have made it clear you don't want to be traveling with more than about $100 in cash anywhere or they'll take it and you can cry all you want but will never see it again.

[Snarkoleptic]

4. Adding new meaning to the term "slush fund" is this nice piece by John Oliver.

Cops Seizing Your Things To Finance Margarita Machines-

[navarth]

8. +1

[heaven05]

9. I laughed

but not loudly. To true. Hats off, john oliver.

[heaven05]

5. the crook stoppers

are state sanctioned crooks themselves it seems, more and more. As well as state sanctioned murderers. That robbery in New York last week by that cop comes to mind. Ferguson speaks for itself.

[Solly Mack]

6. K&R

[hootinholler]

7. These fuckers need trolled by the ACLU

Let them snag 5 grand and file in Federal court a suit alleging lack of due process. This is ridiculously unconstitutional.

[KansDem]

10. And how much cash was seized from the bankers and Wall-Street brokers?

Especially the big banks that laundered Mexican-cartel drug money?

Oh, yeah...I forgot: the same number of bankers and brokers who are stopped and frisked...

[mrdmk]

12. Do not really know about how police departments budgets

The Los Angeles Police Department budget is probably bigger than most small cities without the money seized from citizens. Just a guess.

As for the 'Cash Seizes', it is wholly UN-constitutional (no trial needed), being abused to the point of dishonesty (police officers do it at will), in a lot of cases money taken is less than the money needed to get it back (a number of cases go unreported).

This policy needs to be stopped now.