Police Caught on Tape Abusing Forfeiture Laws
The Cops in this video were caught on tape discussing how much property they could take from a house due to little bit of marijuana found in the trash can. The story begins with an anonymous tip that the police received and progressed after police claimed to have found a marijuana stem after looking through the victims garbage. When the police executed the warrant the victims band was practicing. What the cops didn’t anticipate was that the band wasn’t just practicing, they were also recording. And the mic was turned on, capturing everything the police were saying during the raid. Thank you to the Institute for Justice for highlighting what appears to be a clear abuse of police power and forfeiture laws. Forfeiture laws were designed to take away luxury items from major kingpins. Say, for instance, that some coke baron had a yacht, three mansions, and a private jet. When the forfeiture laws were written up they were created for the fact that the police could reposses any items which were somehow involved in the drug trade. This means that the yachts, and mansions could have been used as money laundering, hence if a coke supplier was convicted all of his property would belong to the state, and then auctioned off. In recent years forfeiture laws have been used increasingly against small time offenders. Even a roach in an ashtray can be grounds for unscrupulous cops to try and take your vehicle in some states. If you feel you have been the victim of police abusing forfeiture laws please contact the institute for justice. They are basically the ACLU of forfeiture laws, as their website states “IJ Litigates nationwide on behalf of individuals whose rights are being violated by government.”
