Originally published at: The DEA seized an innocent man's life savings without charging him with a crime | Boing Boing
…
6 Likes
This is not new, it has been going on since Reagan escalated the drug war in the 1980’s, and it’s an embarrassment to this country. (I’d say crime, but obviously it’s not a crime, which is the problem.)
47 Likes
Anyone who thinks this kind of state-sanctioned highway robbery will never come for them but only for “undeserving” Others should think again.
31 Likes
Hm.
https://trashpanda-x.github.io/darklantern/#Institute%20for%20Justice
Friends, enemies, stopped clock.
11 Likes
It should be very much illegal to seize property without repercussions like this. Every item, every coin should be accounted for and if the government can’t prove criminality within X amount of time it should be returned. Full stop. And if anything goes missing whoever last signed for it is responsible. I get that this would mess with the whole “cops can’t be held responsible for… apparently anything” deal that seems to be at the core of US policing but something needs to be done.
15 Likes
Hmmm, I wonders, could it be… [checks photo] Yep, he’s Black. Of course he’s Black. Carrying money while Black? Clearly drug related.
23 Likes
Civil forfeiture with no trial or anything is fucking blood boiling.
25 Likes
Civil forfeiture like this was brought to us in large part by Joe Biden.
I’m sure Psaki can elicit squeals of delight by spinning that away if anyone asks about his plans to fix this sickening practice.
18 Likes
Another one of these cases?
How can we get the word out to the public to NEVER go through an airport or train station with large sums of cash?
30 Likes
It would be nice if some of our government representatives would end this bullshit
11 Likes
Let this be a warning: if you defund the police, they’ll get it from you some other way.
5 Likes
Lemme guess…this has something to do with the level of pigment in his skin.
12 Likes
Bullshit; this was happening long before ‘Defund the Police’ was ever even an idea.
16 Likes
The spoils should go to fund police oversight organizations. If they weren’t captured already.
3 Likes
Yeah, this should be an accounting system, not an evidence system. Collect the funds, sure. Bag and tag. Assign a goddamn crime, though, and successfully prosecute, or the accountant is going to put it back in the person’s account.
Of course, this just pushes the rotten apple further up the tree, but at least there’s less hidden in the shadows.
6 Likes
True. Problem is, most folks have no idea how much these agencies bring in annually through tactics like this. Even after “Defund the Police,” news outlets tend publish the budgets of big cities instead of the high percentage of local budgets that go towards law enforcement. It’s only when cases like this involving cash (or when someone of means loses their house, car, etc.) makes the headlines that they focus briefly on forfeiture:
14 Likes
Don’t travel with cash. Instead, use a Hawala /s
You beat me to it. IJ is doing a ton of good work on this front.
1 Like
Rooting for Kermit all the way. There’s no way this long-standing abuse doesn’t violate the amendment against unlawful search and seizure, and I’m damned tired of this happening to folks.
12 Likes
Christ, what assholes. Defund the DEA!
9 Likes
