Highway Robbery - literally

[ska]

Please forgive me if this has been mentioned before, but I was shocked by this article I stumbled across regarding Civil asset seizure in the US.

That is to say the right of oridinary police to take any amounts of cash or property believing them to be illegaly gotten gains, amd keeping them without pressing any criminal charges, and without any foundation or concrete suscpicions.

The Local Police or Federal government can take the money or sell goods for their own funding. The onus is on the individual to prove they have a legitmate claim.

Another example of state bullying that individuals are almost powwerless to resist, They PTB really can do anything they want. Scary.

In an extract from the article

in a typical case, a 55-year-old Chinese-American restaurateur from Georgia was pulled over for minor speeding on Interstate 10 in Alabama and detained for nearly two hours. He was carrying $75,000 raised from relatives to buy a Chinese restaurant in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He got back his money 10 months later, but only after spending thousands of dollars on a lawyer and losing out on the restaurant deal. Why was the government not obligated to reimburse this innocent citizen for his legal fees?

Last year, The New Yorker detailed how overzealous officials in Tenaha, Texas shook down out-of-state drivers by, among other things, threatening to take their children away from them, and then funneled the confiscated cash into officer bonuses and popcorn machines.

Probabaly my naivety, and everyone knows about this, but I was shocked by it.

I have looked in the Search - but if this has been covered elsewhere on SOTT or the Forum, I would be fery grateful for a steer to the location

Here is alink to the first article I read

http://www.commdiginews.com/politics-2/civil-asset-forfeiture-highway-robbery-by-the-police-26677/

 

[Nienna]

Yes, this is really terrible. More psychopathic traits of the US police forces.

SOTT has several articles on this. Just put the words "civil forfeiture" in the search function, including the quotation marks and several articles will come up. Here are a few to get you started:

http://www.sott.net/article/282767-How-cops-continue-to-steal-Americans-hard-earned-cash-with-zero-repercussions#searching

http://www.sott.net/article/280127-Psychopathic-greed-Texas-cops-steal-millions-through-policing-for-profit

http://www.sott.net/article/286981-Civil-forfeiture-How-the-police-get-away-with-taking-your-stuff-without-charging-you-with-a-crime

 

[SeekinTruth]

Yeah, I've read a few articles on SOTT over the months about it - another outrageous sign of our times! I think this kind of thing existed even a couple of decades ago, but not as widespread or blatantly "in your face"; they've taken it to a whole new level convinced nothing can be done about it. OSIT.

 

[mkrnhr]

This Civil Forfeiture thing is very bizarre. You might think that a system that values private property over human lives would respect people's private properties, at least in appearance, because that's what the capitalist dogma is based upon. However, with this nonsense, it is as if there is nothing left to save the appearance of, it's plainly a dog eat dog situation in its basest form

 

[ska]

Thanks Nienna, I was clearly using the wrong description in the search.

 

[SeekinTruth]

This Civil Forfeiture thing is very bizarre. You might think that a system that values private property over human lives would respect people's private properties, at least in appearance, because that's what the capitalist dogma is based upon. However, with this nonsense, it is as if there is nothing left to save the appearance of, it's plainly a dog eat dog situation in its basest form

Yeah, exactly. And just another blatant fact that what they claim as their values/motives and what they actually do is a BIG mismatch.

 

[NevadaCat]

Very scary scenario. And after the documented story of the poor family harassed by police, window smashed because passenger didn't provide identification (not a law) and then being tasered in front of his small children and the whole militarized police presence...I'm thinking of traveling with a hive of my honeybees in temperate seasons.

 

[Lilou]

There has been a lot of this "highway robbery" going on here in the states. My son went to dinner with a friend last year at college (friend was driving) and they were pulled over. My son got a ticket for no seat belt, even though he had it on! And cop said that's why he stopped them - no seat belt. Then said he must of put it on before he got to the window. In the ensuing conversation, the cop said "we're the biggest gang here in America now and we can do what we want!" So they even admit it and we had to pay the $65.

What is worse, is they now have scanners along the major interstate highways that will scan/detect large amounts of money in a car. So the cop pulling someone over with money, most likely already knows it's in the car. They will simply take your money and claim you have obtained it illegally. Guilty until proven innocent. And even if you prove your innocence and they return your money, it is minus a "handling fee". Unbelievable!!

 

[Arwenn]

Very scary scenario. And after the documented story of the poor family harassed by police, window smashed because passenger didn't provide identification (not a law) and then being tasered in front of his small children and the whole militarized police presence...I'm thinking of traveling with a hive of my honeybees in temperate seasons.

I know this is no laughing matter, but what you wrote above NevadaCat, gave me a belly laugh. :D I dunno how much protection bees would afford, but worth a shot?

I agree that this Civil Forfeiture thing is horrific, and the lying complicit MSM will never report this and help create awareness to bring this situation to justice. It seems an endless cycle of rapacious greed and more corruption...I think comets and Ebola will be the reset button for these crazy times. OSIT I came across this on a bog, and I thought it was really well said:

Ignorance comes not from a lack of intelligence, but from a denial of knowledge and truth. That is to say, ignorance takes hold when people decide to act as though they know and understand a thing, even if they do not. Ignorance prevails when a society or nation chooses to value the appearance of expertise and the theater of overconfidence and to cheer for the bluster of morons rather than admit that they have unanswered question on subjects they do not yet grasp. Nothing is worse for the self-absorbed than to acknowledge that they do not know.

Entire nations have fallen throughout history because of this terrible weakness.

By extension, such ignorance is not just an inherent disease but also an easily exploitable disease. When we refuse to think critically and examine our surroundings thoroughly, we become like grazing gazelles oblivious to the predators encircling us in the tall grass. And just as there are predatory individuals who hide among us, there are also predatory oligarchs who camouflage themselves as benevolent politicos and financial professionals standing above us. Normal predators we fear; establishment predators we invite into our homes as protectors, saviors and partners.

 

[SeekinTruth]

There has been a lot of this "highway robbery" going on here in the states. My son went to dinner with a friend last year at college (friend was driving) and they were pulled over. My son got a ticket for no seat belt, even though he had it on! And cop said that's why he stopped them - no seat belt. Then said he must of put it on before he got to the window. In the ensuing conversation, the cop said "we're the biggest gang here in America now and we can do what we want!" So they even admit it and we had to pay the $65.

What is worse, is they now have scanners along the major interstate highways that will scan/detect large amounts of money in a car. So the cop pulling someone over with money, most likely already knows it's in the car. They will simply take your money and claim you have obtained it illegally. Guilty until proven innocent. And even if you prove your innocence and they return your money, it is minus a "handling fee". Unbelievable!!

:O That IS unbelievable. What the heck kind of scanner can do that? Maybe the bills have RFID or something similar in them?

 

[Silveryblue]

Probably could detect even some silver - Maybe not?

 

[NevadaCat]

I know this is no laughing matter, but what you wrote above NevadaCat, gave me a belly laugh. :D I dunno how much protection bees would afford, but worth a shot?

People are pretty scared of bees, but I would never do that to them. They get stressed easily.

It's advised to rehearse what to say in a given situation with the cops regarding individual rights and the law and to record cops, etc. but they seem all hepped up on power these days, I'm afraid of being hurt or worse.
Lilou, I had the same thing happen to me regarding seat belts. Cop said I must have just put it on as he approached the car. In the end, I challenged the ticket, took a day off of work, went to a far-flung outpost town that should have it's own X File. The judge dismissed the ticket as he did everyone else who encountered Officer Badger that day. So, everyone had to rearrange their lives to accommodate this Officer and his bad judgement and harassment. The biggest galling thing for me about it is we as taxpayers pay their salaries. For town and city police this may be an effective strategy...complain to the town government. For state police, it's a different hierarchy and bureaucracy.

Maybe another strategy would be to keep a jar of rotten eggs in the car and break open when pulled over. Smell so bad they can't wait to get away.