A North Carolina teenager was hoping to get her life back on track after a state judge ordered a man who sexually abused her to pay her $69,000. Instead, she got a nasty surprise.
The local police department had already seized the cash through civil asset forfeiture, and it was already gone. Despite a judge’s order, she will get nothing.
The case is a stunning example of the misplaced priorities and perverse incentives that asset forfeiture creates for police—and of how the federal government allows state and local police to evade reforms to stop forfeiture abuse.
The judge should make the dept pay her. How is this not the automatic result? I know, don’t explain it to me. I’m just mad.
Yeah, the money’s not gone. We know where it went, and there was no actual crime related to the money.
Civil forfeiture is state-sponsored theft.
Don’t worry about silly things like rights. You have no rights and no property if the proper authority arbitrarily decides you don’t.
“Rights don’t exist if someone can take them away” - Carlin
Can’t most departments seize for feds and get a cut in return, state civil asset forfeiture is getting less common because it’s getting easier to fight because it’s more known and everyone thinks it’s idiotic.
Daily reminder that the police are not here to help
My partner works customer service for a big company and had a customer call in to say an employee at some location was threatening his life. Her nee jerk response was for the customer to call the police but he responded with the names of other minorities that were killed by police and said he felt calling the police would be a bigger threat to his life than the problem employee. Sad that this is how far we’ve fallen, oh wait, this has always been the case. We just now have the means to document and report these abuses of power.
Police already stole the cash…
Fun fact, civil forfeiture started in maritime law when ships were seized carrying illegal items and the perpetrators were foreign nationals that were never in the country, so the only way to pursue an indictment was to seize the ship and charge the ship itself with the crime.
Boy howdy are cops abusing maritime law then.
Sovcit moment right there
There are rules, after all.
Ya just gotta be quicker. /s
The civil forfeiture rule is, “gotcha money BIIITCH!” (And your car, house, etc.)
Those who receive stolen property may be required to return it to the person it was stolen from.
Let her take something from the police in return. Maybe some of their cars?
