It appears that anyone visiting Tennessee this summer should leave their cash at home. A New Jersey man has encountered an outrageous policy among police in that state to seize large amounts of cash from out-of-state visitors without any probable cause of a crime. The practice brings a new meaning to “highway robbery.”
A professional insurance adjuster, George Reby, was traveling through the state from New Jersey when he was stopped and asked by Officer Larry Bates if he had large amounts of cash. He said that he did — $22,000. The officer demanded the money and said that he was confiscating the money on suspicion of drug activity. That is it. The mere fact that he was carrying a large amount of cash was enough under this policy to seize the money. The police know that many out-of-state travelers never come back for the cash and they are then allowed to keep the money for their own uses at the department.
Even though Reby explained why he had the money, it did not matter. The fact that he completely cooperated in allowing a full search of his car did not matter. What mattered was that the police wanted the cash.
Bates admitted that he did not arrest Reby because he did not commit any crime. However, he reminded drivers that “[t]he safest place to put your money if it’s legitimate is in a bank account. He stated he had two. I would put it in a bank account. It draws interest and it’s safer.”
Bates said that he was right to take the money because “he couldn’t prove it was legitimate.” That of course flips the normal presumption under criminal law, but it is an example of how police powers have increased in this country.
To made matters even more authoritarian, Tennessee law allows a judge to sign off on the seizure in an ex parte proceeding. Reby was never informed of the hearing. Only the officer’s account is considered at such hearings.
While Reby insists that he offered to show proof on his computer as to the source of the money, the offer was not reported to the court. Bates simply stated “common people do not carry this much U.S. currency.” He noted later that “a thousand-dollar bundle could approximately buy two ounces of cocaine.” Of course, ten dollars can buy drugs as well as a thousand dollars can buy a jet ski.
Bates also said Reby had a criminal history despite the fact that it was 20 years ago and did not result in any conviction. He also said the money was hidden in the car despite the fact the Reby consented to the search and told the officer about the bag (and gave the bag to the officer).
It takes months for travelers to get their money back and many give up. In Reby’s case, he was forced to travel back to Tennessee to pick up the check and was given no apology for the abusive seizure. Bates will not be disciplined.
The policy in Tennessee is a disgrace, but neither local prosecutors or judges appear motivated to stop the obvious abuse of travelers. Putting aside this case, the seizure of property has become a huge bonanza for prosecutors and police across the country. The threshold showing for such seizure is now so low that they can seize first and ask questions later. It creates a perverse incentive for police officers and their departments when such property and cash ultimately can be claimed by law enforcement. One obvious reform is to stipulate that police and prosecutors cannot benefit from seizures — removing the incentive for broad seizures.
The Tennessee policy makes its recent slogan “Follow Me To Tennessee” sound a bit more menacing. However, they may want to go back to it. The new slogan does not quite fit with its seizure policies targeting out-of-state travelers: “Tennessee- America at its best.”
Source: News Channel 5 as first seen on Reddit.
U.S. of A. The land of the free. pfffffffffffffffffffffff!! fuck that
I hate banks and I don’t have a bank account. I worry about stupid things like this every week when I cash my paycheck. What if some dumbass cop pulls me over and decides that carrying around 800+ dollars in cash is “suspicious”? What do I do then? What am I to do on vacation this summer when I plan on carrying more? Luckily, I’m not driving through TN!
Woosty said.
““The suffering suffers the insufferable from the insufferables.” idealist
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oooooh I like this line! I’m gonna use it if you don’t mind????
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OK, just as long as you don’t hang it up and throw darts at it. I don’t plan to get it tattooed.
The guy who wrote the following song will receive the Medal of Freedom on the 29th of May in the White House:
Johnny’s in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I’m on the pavement
Thinking about the government
The man in the trench coat
Badge out, laid off
Says he’s got a bad cough
Wants to get it paid off
Look out kid
It’s somethin’ you did
God knows when
But you’re doin’ it again
You better duck down the alley way
Lookin’ for a new friend
The man in the coon-skin cap
By the big pen
Wants eleven dollar bills
You only got ten
Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin’ that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phone’s tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the D.A.
Look out kid
Don’t matter what you did
Walk on your tiptoes
Don’t try “No-Doz”
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You don’t need a weatherman
To know which way the wind blows
Get sick, get well
Hang around a ink well
Ring bell, hard to tell
If anything is goin’ to sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write braille
Get jailed, jump bail
Join the army, if you fail
Look out kid
You’re gonna get hit
But users, cheaters
Six-time losers
Hang around the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool
Lookin’ for a new fool
Don’t follow leaders
Watch the parkin’ meters
Ah get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance, learn to dance
Get dressed, get blessed
Try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Don’t steal, don’t lift
Twenty years of schoolin’
And they put you on the day shift
Look out kid
They keep it all hid
Better jump down a manhole
Light yourself a candle
Don’t wear sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Don’t wanna be a bum
You better chew gum
The pump don’t work
’Cause the vandals took the handles
Officer Bates is a thug and even has the neck tattoo to prove it.
Excuse me sir, Is that a Rolex. Normal people do not have that watch you must surrender it And the Porsche you are driving…. well that is a big problem
Forfeiture laws are clearly and completely unconstitutional on their face per the 5th and 14th amendments. How these laws ever got passed, and how they ever stand up in court is beyond me. If I was a DA in TN, Officer Bates would be charged with Robbery. The forfeiture laws are void per Marbury v. Madison.
Get a map folks. Dont drive through Tennessee. When you fly over, remember to flush.
I am appalled that police in the South could possibley be stealing money from visitors! If the officer’s argument is correct, should they not be doing the same thing to all Tennessee citizens as well?
This has been going on for a long time. Georgia used to be a pure crap shoot as to whether tourists could make it through to Florida without being hit up by the cops. They really go after cars from liberal states like MA.
Maybe the police people in Tenn. never heard about this:
“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.”
“The suffering suffers the insufferable from the insufferables.” idealist
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oooooh I like this line! I’m gonna use it if you don’t mind????
One or many seizure laws? Or is it local jusrisdictional, ie up to the sheriff?
Can a fed law nullify such hard to specify practices?
And yet Jamie Dimon still has access to his cash . . . and remains out of prison.
Hmmmmmmmmm.
The suffering suffers the insufferable from the insufferables.
Will it become like the bacteria growing in a testtube?
Will it explode as grows and fills all space.
Pr will we find an an antibiotic first.
Liberté, Fraternité, Égalité. The best I know for treatment.
I am aware that this practice has been going on for years. The states I have read about wide-spread misuse of seizure laws in are exactly the benighted blemishes on humanity you would expect to engage in this type of fraud, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. If it is happening elsewhere I have not see stories on it. It has gotten so bad that they have even confiscated vehicles and personal belongings from people without the slightest hint of evidence. The law on seizure needs to change.
Dredd:
you got that right.
It will be even easier then.
They are practicing for the time when they become politicians.
‘The police know that many out-of-state travelers never come back for the cash and they are then allowed to keep the money for their own uses at the department.’
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If this is true, and an actual policy in that police force, then CONGRATS TN!!!! for being the actual creative force behind corruption in civic service industry…..this is how crooks are created!
This abuse is nothing new and it’s not limited to Tennessee. It happens in airports and on highways across the country. And it’s obscene. Thank you, War on Drugs. Thanks for nothing.