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.
The probably had the family cat with them. So the K-9 got anxious, etc.
Raises an interesting question, since the police found nothing illegal, what exactly did the dog alert to? To me this means either the dog is fallible or his handler is a lying POS. In either case any evidence in any case found as a result of this duo should be tossed.
Moral in the case of the waitress. Keep it to yourself unless someone actually come back in the restaurant asking.
/johnny
It should read, "The person who used to own this couldn't prove that they deserved it."
“I was walking down fifth avenue today and I found a wallet, and I was gonna keep it, rather than return it, but I thought: well, if I lost a hundred and fifty dollars, how would I feel? And I realized I would want to be taught a lesson.” ~Emo Philips
Getting to the point that we have to question do we trust the police anymore.
I get pulled over about 3 times a year. I’m 60. No k-9 has ever been used on a car I was in, nor was I ever searched.
So, why the dog? And what an amazing coincidence that when they DID use a dog, there was a huge amount of money.
Don’t get me wrong. If there is no crime and no charges, this case reduces the cops to simple theives.
Getting to the point that we have to question do we trust the police anymore.
I once had a 16' flatbed trailer abandoned on my property. I called the police, presuming it had been stolen, emptied, and dumped. After taking the report, the officer asked if I wanted it hauled away. I inquired what would happen if it were, and what would happen if I kept it. He stated the city would sell it if not claimed, or I could keep it, but would have to give it up if claimed. I told him he had my number in the report, if they found the owner, and to told him goodbye.
[ Police say a K-9 signal gave them the authority to search the car, ]
The Rule of DOG over the rule of GOD....
WE HAVE SLIPPED THIS FAR FOLKS!!!!
[ After taking the report, the officer asked if I wanted it hauled away. ]
They probably would have charged you for hauling it away too....
Cops are gonna shoot the family dog. Cops are gonna seize the cash in your car. Who don’t know this by now?
Even if this family was not involved in the drug trade, they were stupid to have this amount of cash in their car.
Good luck on getting it back.
Divining rod work if no dog is available?
Amendment IV The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment IV The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Really? Why?
It's perfectly legal.
Instead of cowering and letting the bullies get away with it, it's time to stand and make the BS stop.
/johnny
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.