Civil Asset Forfeiture makes it Legal for Cops to engage in Highway Robbery

Washington Post:  A former Marine was pulled over for following a truck too closely. Police took nearly $87,000 of his cash.

  • ​The officers did not arrest Stephen or charge him with any crime. They just took his life savings and left him on the side of the road without enough money to even afford gas to drive home.

 

  • He is considered guilty of having illicit cash until he can hire a lawyer to prove that he is innocent.

 

Greenville News: Civil Asset forfeiture hurts African Americans most

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  • Stephen is a 39-year-old retired Marine from Lubbock, Texas. He is a devoted father of two teenage daughters and, once a month, he drives from Texas to see them in California, where they live with their mother. Eager to be closer after spending the pandemic in Texas caring for his elderly parents, he has been shopping for a home near the California-Nevada border.

 

  • In February 2021, Stephen was making his usual trip west through Reno when he was pulled over by the Nevada Highway Patrol for supposedly following a tractor-trailer too closely.

 

  • The officer complimented Stephen’s driving, thanked him for observing the speed limit, and explained that NHP was “conducting a public information campaign” to help drivers avoid danger. Confident that the officer was only there to help, Stephen cooperated with his escalating investigation, even volunteering that he was carrying a large amount of cash.

 

  • Ninety minutes later, Stephen had been robbed of his life savings—$86,900—which he carried with him after a spate of robberies in his parents’ neighborhood. The officer who pulled Stephen over wanted to let him go; he was overruled by NHP Sergeant Glenn Rigdon, who ordered the money seized specifically so that it could be “adopted” by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

 

  • “Adoption” is a process by which federal law enforcement agencies can take over a seizure by state and local law enforcement. If the federal government is successful in forfeiting the property, its “equitable sharing” program guarantees the state or local agency that seized the property up to 80% of the proceeds for use in the agency’s budget.

 

  • In Stephen’s case, the DEA sat on his life savings for months, ignoring the legal deadlines requiring it to charge Stephen with a crime, begin a civil forfeiture case against his property, or return the money within six months of seizure. The DEA did none of those things. So, on August 30, IJ sued it in federal court on Stephen’s behalf.

 

  • Early the morning of September 1, the agency announced it would return all of Stephen’s money. In less than 24 hours, it had learned of our lawsuit, answered hard questions from The Washington Post, and committed to reviewing its policies for federal adoptions.

 

  • When we learned he would be getting his money back (filled with joy), he told us, “This isn’t over.”

 

  • And it isn’t. At the same time we filed in federal court, we also filed a major constitutional challenge in state court. Our state case aims to make federal adoptions impossible in Nevada as violations of the state constitution’s guarantees of reasonable seizures supported by probable cause and due process of law—not based on mere suspicion or for the financial benefit of the seizing agency. If we are successful, it will be the first time a state court has struck down federal adoptions. And a victory will take the profit motive out of roadside seizures.

Filmed with a Canon C70 with a 50mm 1.2 lens. Aputure 300d, 120d, and amaran.

 

Comments

  • Check out our latest video in our Policing for Profit series. This one is about local police terrorizing a small town. They even got a tank. https://youtu.be/-cil2gdCa-k
  • I spent 33 years in law enforcement I can tell you this is corrupt no matter what the pretense is. If police can’t understand why they are hated by the public look no further then these actions.
  • This is what being transparent,complying and being respectful will get you when the system is corrupt to its core
  • When someone like a cop or detective starts acting nice, that’s the moment you need to call your lawyer.
  • This is why I sometimes regret serving my country during the best years of my life. I’m boiling over this!
  • As a retired Marine myself, I found this to be appalling. I wonder if racism was rooted in this officers decision. He, like I, and being Marines are always respectful of authority. I’m truly saddened that there are law enforcement officers out there with their own self righteous, feel good, look what I did today attitude. I will certainly be less forth coming, but respectful, if I am ever involved in a situation such as this Marine went through. God bless our country…
  • He didn’t trust the banks and now he doesn’t trust police. What a shame.
  • “To protect and to serve, they’re own interests” The fact that it’s not illegal, in their book,should tell you that ethics and morality have little to do with what’s legal and what is not. The DEA agent was surely aware of the high % of cash that drug residue is found on, yet uses this as justification for this,,quite literally no less than highway robbery. When this corrupt practice is considered legal, every (Law) is a crime, and every cop is a criminal.
  • I’m a bartender and I almost got $8k taken from my car once. Had to say over and over to the officer during the stop that I don’t consent to searches. He insulted me up and down with how bad that makes me look but at the end of the day there was nothing he could do about it. I was within my rights.
  • This has nothing to do with “drugs”. Our government hates it when people take back their financial privacy. It’s easy to track people that use their credit card like a good sheep.Lots of power in such information.
  • “He was driving under the speed limit which is odd” “he has his bank receipts which is odd”.. you can’t even do the right legal thing without it being odd
  • This happened to a buddy of mine, also in Nevada (Las Vegas), where the police entered his home due to a loud party he was having. They entered, found some Marijuana and then continued to search the rest of his house and discovered some savings in the amount of 22k. He was a real estate agent, and also did not trust banks. They seized the cash and he had to go through the same process of proving the money was legal gained and not through illicit activities. It was a long battle but I believe he got most of his money back, minus attorneys fees of course.
  • It happened to my 68 yr old brother too. He doesn’t trust banks and he over 10,000 in cash. And he got pulled over and they took it from him stating it looked suspicious to have that much money. My brother lives in a mobile home and works full time in group homes for mentally challenged. He doesn’t do drugs. And he is a loner! He never got his money back.
  • I’m 57 years old and was raised to be pro police as my father worked as an LEO for a few years. I’ve always supported law enforcement, even with financial donations. That ends today. This is a fucking disgrace to a man who risked his life for my freedoms. The cops confiscation motives are driven by a Service Award Commendation related to theft in office. Until things change I have to distance myself from further law enforcement support.
  • once a cop says “give me a second, let me make anphone call..” you know you’re going to be a victim.
  • A former Marine should not only know his rights, he should have invoked his rights. Never talk to cops without a lawyer present, and never consent to a search…ever!
  • That cop acted like he was his friend. How do you be so nice and cordial while stabbing this good citizen in the heart? How much lawyer money did it cost this guy to get his money back? This is sickening.

 

  • ” I don’t trust banks so I keep my own money. “, you’re not the only one, Marine.
  • No cop can search your vehicle unless they have evidence of a real crime, or a warrant, or your permission. I’d Never say yes to a search. They could plant something on you.
  • This makes me as angry as the next guy, that being said I understand why he did what he did. The world we live in now is so bad that you must know there’s absolutely no winning with cops anymore. Good cops are out there but you definitely can’t trust them. The system is rigged against all of us, and it’s getting worse! Thank god this guy got his back..
  • This man was racially profiled. The reason he got pulled over in the first place was completely bogus. Also, if he had refused to have his vehicle searched they would have brought out the drug sniffing dog, signal to the dog to react, and then search it anyway. This man was screwed no matter how cooperative he was.
  • What’s even more shocking is the victim also has a tonne of receipts to prove where the money has come from 🤦
  • As a veteran who doesn’t trust banks as well this really kills me. You serve your country, have friends and family die for your country, then it robs you. This should never happen, and reminds me of other countries I was in over seas.
  • Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors have abused civil asset forfeiture programs in the past. In many cases, innocent Texas residents lose their property because they lack knowledge of civil forfeiture laws and the proper proceedings to challenge them. Many people do not realize that you can lose your property through civil forfeiture even if you have never been convicted of a crime.
  • The police had ZERO intention of getting that money back to him unless they were sued AND given bad PR. Thank you for representing him!
  • You’ll never understand until it happens to you, welcome to the club, safe travels out there people.
  • Same thing happened to my senior citizen parents at the airport when they were going on vacation. They had $10,500 and it was seized because of suspicion of drug money. They were able to get it back after proving how they legally earned it.
  • The same thing has happened to me by the CBP they seized my property while driving on the road without a warrant or reason. Now I have been out of business for more than a month.
  • If cops do this to a vet with a clean record and receipts I can’t imagine how many other people this happens too.
  • If you people understood the level of corruption in law enforcement in the state of Nevada from corrections to highway patrol to sheriff’s departments and P D’s you would be afraid. I’ve also seen unfair treatment like this in California.
  • This will make people never want to trust that the police are “just asking routine questions”. It should’ve never taken a lawsuit to get HIS money back because it should’ve never been seized to begin with, unless they had PROOF of illegal activity. This gives “highway robbery” a whole new meaning! This man fought for the country, but then had to fight the same government 😡

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(VIDEO) Cop Admits To Finding Reasons To Pull People Over

This police officer not only admits to abusing her power, but seems proud to do this. Entitlement like this is exactly why we need police reform, and Jeff Wiggins breaks it down on Rebel HQ.

Comments

Translation: “(While Im on duty, Im going to break laws when I want to. If you are in the way of me breaking the law, I will find a way to give you a citation and cost you money and time)”

Nothing to see here folks. She took a course for a few weeks and earned herself a shiny badge so never mind the fact that she is literally here on video telling you she doesn’t understand the law and will actually violate your rights and the law on a whim… its, thin blue line and all that fun stuff so…. yeahhhh. You’re the bad guy if you come across her.

 

We all know this already. Does this really shock anyone?

 

So she’s under investigation for telling the truth? As more than one cop has said. “If I follow you long enough, you’ll do something that I can pull you over for”.
No body has to get out of a cops way unless the lights and siren is on. Other then that you have to wait in line like everyone else. There is no law saying a person has to get out of a cops way simply because they are a cop. She is just showing her corrupt privilege.
In Las Vegas they’re over 12,000 NRS laws from big too small. They can pull you over because they can’t see your license plate is not illuminated enough or there’s something hanging in your rearview mirror.
How I understood it. People get arrested because the cops are pissed because when no action is going on, they demand that everybody goes out of their way, gives them special privilege like a king, and when this will not happen then they become so angry on a citizen who done nothing wrong, that they swipe them from the streets? That is just sick to know that the USA doesn’t have a decent police force. Just a lot of bullies who behave like shitty spoiled fashist brats.
The focus needs to be on the departments as well as officers. Whenever a officer gets caught doing exactly what they were trained to do by their department all focus is on the officer. I’m not saying the officer isn’t to blame but an independent agency needs to inspect the department. The department simply points the finger and continues to train incoming officers to do the same thing
“I can go 90 mph. You can’t.” The part she doesn’t say: “because if my reckless driving causes an accident I get to blame it on you.”
At least in my state, it’s illegal for a cop to pull you over if they have followed you for more than 1 mile.
See these so called hardcore muthaphuckas will pick on law abiding citizens getting off on a power trip. But those real ganstas who walk around with nothing to lose they leave them alone. Oh no they dont have the courage to mess with criminals they just mess with civilians.
This thing should find another career. LE attracts so many undesirables.
This cop is so full of shit she can’t go faster than you, unless she is on an emergency call and yes you have to move over but if she wants lunch and she’s breaking the law by speeding to pick up her lunch order or going home, she can be charge and ticketed. Police or any other law enforcement officers are not above the law.
Police: We can break the law but you can’t!
This is common knowledge, the power hungry ego maniacs – it’s nothing to do with the law or helping society
The POLICE…. “Get the f#ck out our way” … pretty much.
Money has corrupted our justice system. There’re financial reasons to find excuses to issue tickets. There’re a financial reasons cops have to fill up private prisons and look for any excuse to throw someone in jail.
A cop being “Under Investigation” is just cop-speak for “we’re all giggling about it in the break room.”

Why Louisiana Stays Poor

With all Louisiana’s wealth in natural resources and industry, WHY DO WE STAY SO POOR?

Comments

Wow, as an outsider (not from Louisiana) I’ve visited the state numerous times, and the impression is always the same—shocking poverty and decay. I’ve always thought of Louisiana as an under-developed state that has just been passed-by the 20th & 21st Centuries. To learn that economically, it’s a very wealthy state with huge economic production and growth from which residents are deriving little to no benefit SCREAMS exploitation. This is a clear lesson in the vital importance of taxes and how they are used.

 

I am a native Louisianaian. If the people would stop electing and re-electing corrupt politicians we could be such a better state. Louisiana is a fantastic state but corruption has ruined us.
I remember working at a hotel when I lived in New Orleans and met a man from there that had moved to Colorado. He told me prior to moving to Colorado he never left Louisiana and thought it was the best state ever. He then said “I got so use to seeing the clean interstates and meeting nice people in Colorado, I came back here to visit 3 years later. I looked around and realized this is a NASTY ass city with no opportunities I can’t believe I stayed here most of my life”. He was happy he left and at that moment I started a plan to leave. I’ve been gone for 4 years and never going back.
The world’s shortest book is entitled “A List of Honest Louisiana Politicians.”
This is why I moved to Texas 16 years ago. EVERY citizen in Louisiana needs to see this. Thank you so much for making this video.
This is absolutely amazing I live in Louisiana and I am one paycheck away from being homeless and corporations get away with murder this absolutely sickens me
“If the wealth of a nation is mostly dug out of the ground, it is a terrible place to live, because a gold mine can run with dying slaves and still produce great treasure.” -CGP_Grey [Rules for Rulers] Corollary: Great places to live are founded on the economic strength of happy productive citizens.
Great video. Another thing to keep in mind is Louisiana has some of the highest sales tax rates in the country, and they are high partly to make up for the lost property tax revenues. Sales taxes hit the poorest the hardest.
I cried watching this. I was born and raised here. I’ve watched my friends and family vote consistently for politicians who sell them out. They worship Industry and Big Oil, they think bending over & letting the big companies have their way is the only path to economic opportunity. I have such a deep connection to this land, such a love and appreciation for it, but I just can’t be here anymore. I can’t watch the thing I love and cherish be ripped apart and torn asunder so greedy politicians and corporations can glean every last drop of wealthy we have.
I’ve lived in Gonzales, Louisiana my entire life. I can count on one hand the times I’ve left the state longer than 48 hours in my 21 years. Honestly until seeing this video I’ve felt very optimistic about living in this state, and have always wanted to come back home anytime I leave. I grew up thinking we were one of the best states because the amount of plants ascension pairsh, and neighboring parishes have to then see/hear all of this. It’s a real slap in the face, and we all deserve better. If it wouldn’t for me honestly not having the means to leave, and how much I love my community I’d leave. The other states I’ve been too not every so I don’t know for sure the people aren’t as kind, nore hospitalitie as us in Louisiana are. My take on all of this is that we as citizens of this great state need to fight for our share of what WE ALL put in with taxes. Let’s not forget the men, and women working the plants who have some pretty dangerous jobs who are nothing but numbers. Finally how about all of us who don’t work in that industry? We have the Devine “privilege” of breathing, smelling, and for some living in such close proximity to them all. For that alone we deserve some sorta system related to Alaska where it’s citizens get a percentage of the revenue in OUR pockets, and more importantly that these multi billion, maybe trillion dollar companies pay AT LEAST a fair share of the property value/profits!!!!
Great video… I went to school in Louisiana, now living in Texas. I’ve always been amazed at the stark contrast in infrastructure… as soon as I cross the border from Texas into Louisiana, the roads are noticeably inferior. I’ve never been able to explain this, since both states have similar natural resources… this video makes sense. Thank you for doing this.
As an immigrant I feel this video resonating with the reasons we leave our counties, it’s not because we are land poor without the beautiful riches nature has to offer but because they are poorly managed and hoarded by a small corrupt few. Louisiana looks more beautiful, and I regret not going out during the reconstruction after Katrina and offering my little grain of sand when I had the chance.
And don’t forget Louisiana’s “cancer alley”, where the rates of cancer are significantly higher than the national average. This is so bad that it was used as a case study in one of my environmental courses for how bad out of control pollution can get.
I’m from western New York and this just stuns me. I thought the disparity and corruption is bad here but it doesn’t hold a candle to this. I hope the people of Louisiana get justice and a properly funded future!
it’s amazing that corporations can be exempt from property tax but that individual’s homes cannot.
My uncle served in the Air Force in Louisiania and absolutely loved that state, but he was shocked by the poverty and the rampant corruption.
This was an outstandingly professionally produced video.
As someone who works in data, great job keeping this data driven and factual and not based on “Feelings”. Its very easy to follow your research and understand a cause and effect relation. I’m not from Louisiana but I’m from another “traditionally poor state” – Michigan and I think some of the problems you face are some of the same ones we also face. I hope your politicians can turn it around.
It wasn’t until I moved away from Louisiana that I realized how bad the situation was there. I love my people, but it is too hard for me to see them taken advantage like this and just roll over for it. All of this wealth rightfully belongs to the people of Louisiana, but they don’t even realize it. Honestly, once my mother passes away, I probably won’t ever return to the state. It’s too heartbreaking for me.
As a foreigner living in the US, I’ve always wondered why the “South” is always so poor. This explains so much. Thank you for explaining this.
So glad to know you exist and are fighting against these inequities with great skill, and showing some results! It gives me hope for the state where family and friends still live. I left Louisiana decades ago for college out of state. I saw how other states operated and never seriously considered returning. I sadly began to see Louisiana a a state operating much like a Central American kleptocracy, but embedded in the US. Even the most corrupt other states had nothing on Louisiana.
This is absolutely terrifying. I honestly wonder if Louisiana’s natural resource infrastructure and tax exemptions are part of the reason why school privatization was pushed so hard in New Orleans after Katrina hit.
I’m German, could care less and stumbled upon this video by accident – but my God did they do a good job in presenting this!!! One of the best visualizations and presentations I’ve ever come across and I work in white color automotive. Congratulations! Hope this had the wanted outcome and the situation has gotten better for the people …
I tend to be one of the last to support a tax increase, and being Louisiana, my initial thought was of corruption and levee funding being diverted. But this is a very solidly argued point that Louisiana went way too far in practically exempting industrial properties from property taxes. Then my next reaction was that there was no way the political fight would be won so I was pleasantly surprised to see the progress shown at the end. Congratulations to you guys for helping to create a significant improvement in public policy! Now I hope the money will be well-spent.
With those property tax exemptions, there’s also the point of them not paying for services and public right of ways that they need to operate. More dense development typically is the only property that returns more than it costs cities to maintain. This means not only are the urban poor subsidizing suburban development, but they’re subsidizing the giant corporations they work for. And they’re not even paid a fair living wage to begin with due to deregulation.
Let me just take a wild guess and say that practically everything has gotten worse and almost nothing has gotten better for Louisiana residents since this video was produced. Get out while (if) you still can. I’ve struggled here my whole life and I’ve finally had enough. I’m selling my possessions and moving away with whatever fits in my beat up 90’s car as soon as I can manage it, and I will never look back.
I’m from Mississippi, a genuinely poor state with poor natural resources and high corruption – not so much on the corporate-political level, but rather internally to our politics. Both sides of the government participate in these practices, and its no wonder that our state remains poor. Whenever I cross over into Louisiana, however, I’m always shocked at how destitute things are. Like this video states, there are so many reasons that Louisiana should be one of the richest states in the United States, and I’ve been aware of them for a long time. It’s baffled me for years that a state so strategically placed and rich in natural resources could possibly be on a level of poverty like Mississippi. Now I know why, and it breaks my heart to see a state that could be so prosperous falling to corruption and poverty that has no business being in it. Unlike Mississippi, there is no excuse for Louisiana to be at the bottom. I sincerely hope this changes.
You think those good ol’ boys on the state board might be getting some kick backs from all those tax exemptions they hand out so freely ?
Having lived in Alaska, where every citizen received a yearly dividend from investment of oil lease fees, this is sickening to hear. Louisiana should be one of the most flush states in the nation if it weren’t for trickle-down economics and tax breaks for the wealthy. The impact of these industries should be beneficial to the area not debilitating. The bottom line is that the people of the state of Louisiana are paying (or losing out on) the taxes that should be spread out to all the consumers. Good luck to all in Louisiana, I hope you finally get this corrected.
“No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems. They are trying to solve their own problems – of which getting elected and re-elected are number one and number two. Whatever is number three is far behind.”
OMG, I had no idea how bad this was. I lived in New Orleans, Louisiana for 10 years. I actually left because of lack of opportunities, widespread poverty and lackluster healthcare system. I also knew that my life expectancy would go down drastically if I stayed. I did develop endocrine health issues during and and immediately after living there. It took 10 years to figure out what was wrong with me. My DNA may have been predisposed to these problems, but maybe they may never have come up if I never lived there.
This could also be useful to show to the decision makers in most other states if nothing else to show what not to do.

Evidence: US is not a democracy | Princeton University study

US / Western propaganda always says that the US bombs and invades other countries in order to promote democracy and freedom. They apply brutal sanctions that deprive innocent people of medicines and food. They overthrow other nations’ governments by secretly working with extremists and separatists in those nations and install pro-US regimes. They do this ALL in the name of democracy when the fact is they don’t even have one! It’s insanely mind-boggling but, that’s just what propaganda does. It twists logic and reality to the point where words and actions are meaningless.