Are We Moving Toward a Police State?
By James Donahue
It took action by President Barack Obama’s Administration to put a stop to nationwide police abuse of a search and seizure policy instituted by the Bush Administration after 9-11. Two years ago former Attorney General Eric Holder barred state and local police agencies from using federal law to seize cash and personal property without warrants or filing criminal charges. Now Trump’s boy, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is bringing that policy back.
Last week Sessions announced his decision to allow police to return to the “good old days” when many officers were enriching their units and their personal lives through the open seizure of personal property without court order. Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein told news reporters in Washington that the goal “is to empower our police and prosecutors with this important tool that can be used to combat crime, particularly drug abuse.”
The problem was, when the Obama Administration moved to put a stop to it, the criminal element appeared to have shifted from the drug abusers and crooks to the police themselves.
Research by reporters for the Washington Post in 2014 found that cops in the U.S. had seized nearly $2.5 billion in assets from motorists and individuals without warrants or indictments. This was all done since the 9-11 attacks. The paper printed a series of stories revealing that police were routinely stopping drivers for minor traffic infractions, pressuring them to allow searches without court orders, and then seizing large amounts of cash and property even when there was no evidence of wrongdoing.
The police agencies where spending their cash windfall on drug task force equipment including weapons and armored cars. They also were buying luxury vehicles, boats and even new homes for themselves.
It was by then a $65 million forfeiture spigot that was literally robbing the public, without court sanctions.
Now the Trump Administration wants to turn that spigot back on.
Rosenstein told reporters the Justice Department will include more safeguards this time to prevent police from misusing this seizure module. He said police departments will be required to report to the Justice Department about probable cause and federal officials will be asked to inform property owners about their rights when seizures occur. But even if the authorities comply…which is an iffy thought . . . Rosenstein was vague about just what those rights might be once the property is grabbed.
Indeed, before Obama stepped in, police agencies and even the federal authorities were happily sharing in their legal right to steal. And they were doing it aggressively.
In the final years of my personal reporting of police activity in Michigan, before I retired, I was troubled after I noticed that Sheriff’s deputies and state troopers in my area were starting to live large. I knew their yearly salaries did not warrant the nice homes, power boats and mobile homes sitting in their yards. I suspected that this phenomenon was directly related to the local “drug war” and was working on a potential series of reports on this subject. Before my stories saw the light of day, however, my bureau was shut down and I was given financial incentive to take an early retirement at age 55.
Was this just by coincidence or did the graft go even deeper than I ever suspected? I had my suspicions but they remained unproven. With crooks like Trump and his gang now in charge of our nation’s government, it looks like any effort to put a stop to this kind of mass extortion is over. Without protection from the men hired to protect us, are we not just one step from becoming a police state?
By James Donahue
It took action by President Barack Obama’s Administration to put a stop to nationwide police abuse of a search and seizure policy instituted by the Bush Administration after 9-11. Two years ago former Attorney General Eric Holder barred state and local police agencies from using federal law to seize cash and personal property without warrants or filing criminal charges. Now Trump’s boy, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is bringing that policy back.
Last week Sessions announced his decision to allow police to return to the “good old days” when many officers were enriching their units and their personal lives through the open seizure of personal property without court order. Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein told news reporters in Washington that the goal “is to empower our police and prosecutors with this important tool that can be used to combat crime, particularly drug abuse.”
The problem was, when the Obama Administration moved to put a stop to it, the criminal element appeared to have shifted from the drug abusers and crooks to the police themselves.
Research by reporters for the Washington Post in 2014 found that cops in the U.S. had seized nearly $2.5 billion in assets from motorists and individuals without warrants or indictments. This was all done since the 9-11 attacks. The paper printed a series of stories revealing that police were routinely stopping drivers for minor traffic infractions, pressuring them to allow searches without court orders, and then seizing large amounts of cash and property even when there was no evidence of wrongdoing.
The police agencies where spending their cash windfall on drug task force equipment including weapons and armored cars. They also were buying luxury vehicles, boats and even new homes for themselves.
It was by then a $65 million forfeiture spigot that was literally robbing the public, without court sanctions.
Now the Trump Administration wants to turn that spigot back on.
Rosenstein told reporters the Justice Department will include more safeguards this time to prevent police from misusing this seizure module. He said police departments will be required to report to the Justice Department about probable cause and federal officials will be asked to inform property owners about their rights when seizures occur. But even if the authorities comply…which is an iffy thought . . . Rosenstein was vague about just what those rights might be once the property is grabbed.
Indeed, before Obama stepped in, police agencies and even the federal authorities were happily sharing in their legal right to steal. And they were doing it aggressively.
In the final years of my personal reporting of police activity in Michigan, before I retired, I was troubled after I noticed that Sheriff’s deputies and state troopers in my area were starting to live large. I knew their yearly salaries did not warrant the nice homes, power boats and mobile homes sitting in their yards. I suspected that this phenomenon was directly related to the local “drug war” and was working on a potential series of reports on this subject. Before my stories saw the light of day, however, my bureau was shut down and I was given financial incentive to take an early retirement at age 55.
Was this just by coincidence or did the graft go even deeper than I ever suspected? I had my suspicions but they remained unproven. With crooks like Trump and his gang now in charge of our nation’s government, it looks like any effort to put a stop to this kind of mass extortion is over. Without protection from the men hired to protect us, are we not just one step from becoming a police state?