Posted on 05/01/2014 8:50:48 AM PDT by bkopto
Iowa City police seized $48,000 in cash from a Minnesota couple during a traffic stop in March. They want it back – but that’s been proving difficult, the Iowa City Press-Citizen reports.
The publication says Kearnice C. Overton, of St. Paul, was pulled over March 16 for speeding. Overton’s kids were in the car at the time. Police say a K-9 signal gave them the authority to search the car, the Press-Citizen reports. So they did, found the $48,000 in cash, and seized it.
Overton says he got the money from his wife, Tiffani D.S. Barber, to buy some property in Iowa; he drove down there, the deal fell through so he was on his way home. Barber and Overton filed a petition stating the money was wrongly seized – no charges were filed, Overton was not arrested, and he claims it wasn’t illegally earned – and they want it back, the Press-Citizen reports.
But things have become more complicated: The Press-Citizen now reports the cash is part of a federal investigation.
According to the paper, court documents filed Monday show the money is no longer being held by Iowa authorities – but the files offer no details on what the federal investigation is about.
The Press-Citizen notes a hearing regarding the seized cash is still set for May 6.
A similar story of police seizure turned out well for a Moorhead woman.
WCCO reported on a tip received by waitress Stacy Knutson back in 2012 – rolls of cash, left in a box at a table she was serving, totaling $12,000.
The mother of five called police to notify them, the station reported; police said they’d hold it for 90 days in case it was claimed. But when Knutson tried to get it back, she was told it was now being held as drug money.
In April, Knutson’s attorney said Moorhead police had agreed to give back the entire sum, the station reported. Last year, The New Yorker published a lengthy piece about civil forfeiture and its increased use across the country.
Seizing illicitly-gained money can be appealing, the publication noted, because it can oftentimes be used right away by law enforcement to help combat crime.
“In Tulsa, Oklahoma, cops drive a Cadillac Escalade stenciled with the words ‘This Used To Be a Drug Dealer’s Car, Now It’s Ours!”” the piece said. “In Monroe, North Carolina, police recently proposed using forty-four thousand dollars in confiscated drug money to buy a surveillance drone … “
And unlike a criminal forfeiture, which can only happen if a person is convicted, a civil forfeiture can occur even if you haven’t been found guilty.
Is a psychic dog better or worse authority than a jailhouse “snitch” who told investigators that a convicted criminal “confessed” to murdering two teenaged girls who’ve since turned up dead in a river of a mere traffic accident?
Another victim of the War on Drugs and the civil asset forfeiture laws passed in its name. Anyone who’s surprised at all by these stories hasn’t been paying attention, because this has been going on for 20 years or more now.
I'm older than you and have been pulled over 4 times in my entire life....and got one ticket,which I fought in court and won.Either I'm doing something right or you're doing something wrong. ;-)
Meanwhile Willie Nelson can keep his bus and career after being busted with large quantities of pot and psychedelic mushrooms onboard.
Two Americas indeed.
Let's be honest, the way dogs are being used now is to specifically circumvent "probable cause" requirements for searches. It's perfect; you want to search a car, you call the dog in. You give it a hand signal and it does what it does to indicate it's found something. And it cannot be questioned in court. You can't put the dog on the stand and ask what it smelled. If the cops find nothing, they just shrug.
If there really is a war on drugs, why isn’t Willie Nelson in jail for transporting dealer quantities of narcotics?
I’m older than you and have been pulled over 4 times in my entire life....and got one ticket,which I fought in court and won.Either I’m doing something right or you’re doing something wrong. ;-)
Sometimes the make of cars is a “red flag” and/or the license plate number....
Maybe try getting new plates
Why isn’t some enteprising news agency doing investigative stings on the police dept abuses of the citiz.......
Oh...
Right...
That would require actual Journalism and risk...
“It’s perfectly legal.”
_____________________________________
Yeah. Sure it is. And per the gubmint - its perfectly legal to seize the money.
Being legal is one thing. Being wise, prudent and smart with 50 large in you car with no credible reason is another.
Well, yes and no.
Remember Willie later “got his” when the IRS took all he had. If the gubmint don’t get you here - they will get you there.
There's probably no U.S. bill in circulation that hasn't been rolled-up and used to snort cocaine. It's truly filthy money and a dog alerting to it is no proof a crime has been committed. We've become a police state.
I am betting on lying pos
Despite the fact this is legalized highway robbery, anyone by now should know that it exists and take the precautions. It’s also a fact that most cash has drug traces on it and will automatically set off the dog.
Seal the money in a ziploc back inside another, both sprayed with Febreze, inside a hermetic sealed lockbox, inside a locked suitcase filled with clothes, sprayed again with Febreze, and locked in the trunk. Wash your hands after handling the money.
A little effort will go a long way in avoiding having it happen in the first place.
The whole “ the dog indicated” is BS. The handler can EASILY teach the dog to indicate with a subtle signal from the officer. So anyone can be searched if they want to.
Why do you get pulled over three times a year I am nearing 55 and have been pulled over a little of 3 times in my life
K9 Alerts to justify search:
1 - Dog breathing hard.
2 - Dog not breathing hard.
Willie paid off his IRS debt long before his recent (past couple years) drug infraction. And the national media questioned how the authorities could “hassle” a “legend” like Willie.
Same as the prosecution (and walk) of Billy Joe Shaver for shooting a man in the face at a bar.
You can train a dog to do most anything on verbal or visual commands. A slight finger movement, dog hits on the suspect car, you just lost all your stuff. If you don’t think it happens every day, well......
I’m 64 and drive a white F150 pickup with a Ruger decal on the back window. I also wear a white baseball cap that says “Springfield M1 Garand” on it. I also have a loaded 1911 in my console.
I have never been pulled over. [But I also live in a north Georgia county where that is probably the norm]
And if they searched your car for some reason anyway, and found your money quadruple-sealed and double-sprayed, then they would really think you had something to hide.
Civil forfeiture laws without trial are an obscene violation of the Constitution, and a swift road to police corruption.
And as a practical matter, the War on Drugs is a failure and is the cause of the corruption.
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