Among the worst violations of liberty and property brought about by the American police state is the insidious practice of civil asset forfeiture (CAF). Also known as policing for profit, CAF allows cops to seize cash, cars and other assets on the spot - with no evidence of a crime having been committed.
Police departments and other agencies keep these stolen assets, using them to buy equipment, pay salaries and for purposes simply marked as "other."
The innocent victims of this theft must pay expensive legal fees just for the chance to get their cash or assets back, with no guarantee it will work.In the latest egregious example, the
Arkansas Court of Appeals approved the theft of nearly $20,000 from Guillermo Espinoza
during a traffic stop, even though he was never charged with a crime and prosecutors had attempted to dismiss the case. Espinoza even provided paychecks and tax filings to show that his cash was "lawful earnings," but this did not satisfy corrupt Arkansas authorities.
The Institute for Justice (IJ) closely monitors this kind of abuse being carried out on citizens across the country.
Federal, state and local authorities are all players in this racket that amounts to billions of dollars in cash and assets being seized.
Comment: What a bizzaro world! This ranks right up there with Connecticut and UK police breaking into people's homes and cars to teach them lessons about burglary. The line between police officers and organized crime gangs gets blurrier by the minute.