We have previously discussed “policing for dollars” or “churning” where they seize cash, particularly on highways, as suspected drug money even without actually arresting or charging the drivers. It raises a huge amount of money for police departments and has been widely criticized as abusive. The latest victim of churning appears to be Charles Clarke, 24, who was on his way to take classes at the University of Central Florida. He was stopped at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron, Ky. with his life savings that he was taking with him for safe keeping and to support his education. Since he could not “prove” the source of the money, agents seized the $11,000 and, despite dropping all charges against him, has thus far refused to return the money despite Clarke’s efforts.
The stop at the airport occurred after an airline employee reported that Clarke’s luggage smelled of marijuana. Police told him that he was free to go but asked to search him and his bags. Rather than walk away, Clarke consented and immediately told them that he had the cash on him. They found no drugs and he admitted that he had smoked marijuana before going to the airport.
DEA agent William Conrad, a Cincinnati-based officer with a DEA task force,and Detective Christopher Boyd said that when they grabbed the money, Clarke grabbed approached Boyd’s wrist. They responded by criminally charging him with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct — charges later dropped after they took the money.
Conrad’s affidavit insisted that the seizure was perfectly justified “based on probable cause that it was proceeds of drug trafficking or was intended to be used in an illegal transaction.” The “Mitigating factors” cited by Conrad was the purchase of a one-way ticket, inability to provide documentation noting where the money came from, a positive hit by a drug dog and the strong smell of marijuana on his checked luggage. Yet Clarke admitted to smoking pot and there was a perfectly good reason for a one-way ticket for a college student. Finally, if Conrad was asked to prove the source of the money in his wallet, I expect he would have had the same difficulty in producing receipts or a financial statement.
The United States attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky appears to have no comment on the arrest, dropped charges, or money seizure. There is a presumption of guilt until proven otherwise. It is simply thrown on the pile of $6.8 billion in cash and property has been seized through the “Equitable Sharing Program.” While only two agencies were involved in stripping Clarke of his life savings, some 11 agencies across Kentucky and Ohio claim cuts in such proceeds.
DBQ:
“When I was in the biz, I volunteered to teach a few classes at the junior high level and high school level from the CFP courses that were geared to children (adults could benefit as well). The teachers loved it and the kids were amazed. I tried to bring the concepts down to things that they could connect to. Buying a car. Saving for a future goal (a car). Interest rates and how they affect the loan….on a CAR. LOL.”
I would LOVE if these concepts were taught in high school.
DBQ and Karen – Sadly there is not time in the school day for you to teach these classes. All the energy is taken up by high stakes testing and football.
Ken – never mind. I see I was mistaken and that you were not talking to me.
Ken:
“It should also tell you a great deal regarding your habitually authoritarian and ethnically prejudicial consciousness that you’re more concerned with people’s having “chips on their shoulders” than you are with police brutality, which is not only much more mentally and physically damaging to its victims than are chips on shoulders, but against which it is illegal to physically defend oneself.
I’m sincerely sorry that you perceive the world through such a distorting cognitive filter, but until you recognize it for yourself, I realize that there’s little hope you’ll do anything to correct it.”
I can’t see this as being based on anything I’ve written.
I have routinely commented about police wrongdoing threads the same – it needs to be investigated, and if true, subject to the relevant laws and department regulations. And I often make the comment along the lines of whenever someone in the public trust like a doctor, nurse, judge, or police officer is proven to have betrayed the public trust, that is especially heinous.
On the relevant pool party thread, I repeatedly said we should wait for an investigation, it was upsetting to see the teenage girl handled so roughly and if I had been her mother I would have been furious. On the other hand she was acting like a child and refusing to move so he heaved her like a sack of potatoes and put his knee on her back. It looked too rough for a kid who wasn’t threatening. I said he seemed emotional. It came out he’d responded to one suicide where a guy had blown his head off and a 2nd call were a young girl was threatening to throw herself off her parents’ roof to kill herself. This was his 3rd call. The man reaching into his waistband MAY have caused the cop to draw his firearm, but I wasn’t sure. It needed to be investigated. I pointed out that comments on the Internet that this was a white neighborhood where no black kids were allowed in the pool ware false. A black neighbor was interviewed who said it was a mixed neighborhood and black kids swam in the pool all the time.
My thought was that the 2 suicide calls may have caused the cop to lose it. It needed to be investigated. Considering the day this cop had and that no one was hurt, I thought it was premature for him to be forced to retire by the mob who wouldn’t at least wait for all the facts first.
Ken:
“whereas all you saw was just “a cop sub[duing] some black kids…”” That wasn’t me. I did not say any of that.
The Chief ot Police is a far more poliitical than law enforcement position. He sacrificed one cop for the sake of politics and along the way managed to do absolutely nothing to address the far larger problem of out of control juveniles.
OR the rampant Asset Forfeiture theft problem today!
Olly
1, June 20, 2015 at 3:42 pm
“The Chief ot [sic] Police is a far more poliitical [sic ] than law enforcement position. He sacrificed one cop for the sake of politics and along the way managed to do absolutely nothing to address the far larger problem of out of control juveniles.”
So, I gather that you’re another member of the mind-reading contingent. Do you and The Shadow know what other evil lurks in the hearts of men, including Chief Conley?
What “out of control juveniles” would those be, Olly? The ones in the video appeared to be intimidated and/or subdued by what Chief Conley said was an LEO who arrived on the scene out of control and who stayed that way, at least during the period documented by the video.
And the McKinney police union is what, an apolitical consciousness-raising school of esoteric studies? To the extent that he weighed any political considerations, I’m sure that Casebolt’s being the vice president of the police union would have been preeminent among them.
Here’s a summary of Chief Conley’s credentials and law enforcement experience:
Greg Conley named McKinney Chief of Police
By City of McKinney
Mar 18, 2015
“McKinney — Today, Interim McKinney City Manager Tom Muehlenbeck announced the hiring of Greg Conley as Chief of the McKinney Police Department after a national search, public input and an interview process. Conley currently serves as Assistant Chief of Police for the Garland, Texas Police Department. He has more than 27 years of experience in law enforcement. He will start no later than April 15.
“Conley began his career in law enforcement in 1988 with the Mesquite, Texas Police Department. In 1992, he was hired by the Garland Police Department where he has risen through the ranks working in a wide variety of divisions, ultimately ascending to the Assistant Chief position in 2000.
“ ‘Chief Conley has the integrity, strength of character, and wealth of experience we were looking for. He is a proven consensus builder, and we believe he is the best fit for the future of the McKinney Police Department,’ said Muehlenbeck.
“City officials selected finalists for the Chief of Police after a nationwide search conducted with The Mercer Group, Inc., an independent external executive recruiting firm. Resident feedback was also used in the search, following a series of public inputs.”
“OR the rampant Asset Forfeiture theft problem today!”
Is this a sly shot at Squeeky for going off topic with the post below?
“@KarenS
“Ken’s point about preferences causing more harm than good, also applies to the constant race-baiting nonsense by the media and the left. My goodness, a cop subdues rowdy black kids, and the national media is there. I mean, if you pick at a scab enough, it is going to bleed. All this unnecessary attention is sending black people into the world with a big chip on their shoulder. IMHO.”
Chief Conley had only been on the job for 90 days.
@ Squeeky Fromm, Girl Reporter
1, June 19, 2015 at 10:49 pm
“@KarenS
“Ken’s point about preferences causing more harm than good, also applies to the constant race-baiting nonsense by the media and the left. My goodness, a cop subdues rowdy black kids, and the national media is there. I mean, if you pick at a scab enough, it is going to bleed. All this unnecessary attention is sending black people into the world with a big chip on their shoulder. IMHO.”
Isn’t it interesting to you, psychologically speaking, that you and the McKinney police chief watched the exact same video,” and he said, “the actions of Casebolt as seen in the video of the disturbance at the community pool are indefensible.” whereas all you saw was just “a cop sub[duing] some black kids…”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgTVGCItQAk&feature=player_embedded
Moreover, of the three of us (Chief Conley, you, and me) you’re the only one who brought up the ethnicity of the kids, as though that were relevant in any way to Boltcase’s brutal treatment of them.
Doesn’t that tell you something regarding how authoritarian and prejudicial your mindset is, that a police chief and you could so differ in your interpretations of Casebolt’s actions? If it doesn’t, please think about it.
Regarding the teens’ ethnicity, if you think you can do it without giving yourself a cognitive-dissonance headache, freeze the frame in the video where Casebolt pulled his gun on the two teenagers, one of whom was “white.” The “white” teen’s hands were at his sides throughout the encounter, and the “black” kid was holding a towel or T-shirt. The “He reached in his waistband” rationalization is either a feeble-mindedly biased perception or an outright lie made up by someone in a misguided attempt to justify Casebolt’s pointing his gun at two unarmed, non-threatening teenagers.
It should also tell you a great deal regarding your habitually authoritarian and ethnically prejudicial consciousness that you’re more concerned with people’s having “chips on their shoulders” than you are with police brutality, which is not only much more mentally and physically damaging to its victims than are chips on shoulders, but against which it is illegal to physically defend oneself.
I’m sincerely sorry that you perceive the world through such a distorting cognitive filter, but until you recognize it for yourself, I realize that there’s little hope you’ll do anything to correct it.
Ken Rogers – the young man reached to the BACK of his waistband where the cop could not see if he had a weapon or not but he also took a shooter’s stance. The officer pulled his weapon with his eyes on the young man, not the girl, and kept them there until he was sure the young man was not a threat.
What the chief of police said was to keep Al Sharpton off his back. He threw the officer, who had had a really rough day, under the bus.
Squeeky,
When I heard that story last week I was amazed at how far we have fallen as a civil society. These utterly ridiculous ideas germanate within a culture completely disconnected from an inalienable rights-based rule of law. Social justice IS the stake-in-the-heart of a liberty loving society.
@Olly
Sadly, your very good bullet list may run afoul of the whole “White Privilege” thingy. And no, I am not just being silly. (That’s for later! 🙂 )
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
We are raising our children to be financially illiterate and to fail in life. Is it any wonder that most Americans live paycheck to paycheck? That most Americans accumulate more debt than assets?
Absolutely.
Those bullet list items are great. It is basically how I raised my daughter. I didn’t think about it in detail. It was how I was raised as well.
Gruber is correct. The people are economic idiots. It isn’t their fault. They have not been taught even the most basics of economics or household management.
When I was in the biz, I volunteered to teach a few classes at the junior high level and high school level from the CFP courses that were geared to children (adults could benefit as well). The teachers loved it and the kids were amazed. I tried to bring the concepts down to things that they could connect to. Buying a car. Saving for a future goal (a car). Interest rates and how they affect the loan….on a CAR. LOL.
Basic budgeting. Pretend household with a budget. Rent, utilities, shopping for food. CAR payment. It was eye opening for many of the kids. I must say though that those students who were in FFA and had 4H agricultural experience, already had these concepts down.
During my years in the practice, I would also do free seminars for adults on more involved investment concepts starting with mutual funds, bonds, stocks. Stock analysis for the more advanced investors who want to go it on their own. Investment strategies and building portfolios. We also did some planning concepts and used some Monte Carlo software. The adults loved it and it was also a good way to build my business 😀
Schools are remiss in NOT teaching these basic life concepts. I would volunteer again to present these classes or seminars for children AND adults.
This is a very good piece of financial advice I read yesterday:
Will Your Child be Rich or Poor? 15 Poverty Habits Parents Teach Their Children
SEPTEMBER 24, 2013 BY THOMAS C. CORLEY
When I travel the country speaking to high school and college students about exactly what they need to do to become financially successful in life I always begin my presentation by asking three questions:
“How many want to be financially successful in life?”
“How many think they will be financially successful in life?”
Almost every time I ask the first two questions every hand rises in the air. Then I ask the magic third question:
“How many have taken a course in school on how to be financially successful in life?”
Not one hand rises in the air, ever. Clearly every student wants to be successful and thinks they will be successful but none have been taught by their parents or their school system how to be financially successful in life. Not only are there no courses on basic financial success principles but there are no structured courses teaching basic financial literacy. We are raising our children to be financially illiterate and to fail in life. Is it any wonder that most Americans live paycheck to paycheck? That most Americans accumulate more debt than assets? That many Americans lose their homes when they lose their job? Is it any wonder that most Americans cannot afford college for their children and that student loan debt is now the largest type of consumer debt?
What’s worse is what our children are being taught by their parents, the school system, politicians and the media. They are teaching our children that the wealthy are corrupt, greedy, have too much wealth and that this wealth needs to be redistributed. What kind of a message do you think that sends to America’s future generation? It is teaching them that seeking financial success by pursuing the American Dreams is a bad thing. The Occupy Wall Street movement was a manifestation of this “wealth is bad and needs to be redistributed “mindset. .
Here are some statistics from my five-year study on the daily habits that separate the wealthy from the poor?
1.72% of the wealthy know their credit score vs. 5% of the poor
2.6% of the wealthy play the lottery vs. 77% of the poor
3.80% of the wealthy are focused on at least one goal vs. 12% of the poor
4.62% of the wealthy floss their teeth every day vs. 16% of the poor
5.21% of the wealthy are overweight by 30 pounds or more vs. 66% of the poor
6.63% of the wealthy spend less than 1 hour per day on recreational Internet use vs. 26% of the poor
7.83% of the wealthy attend/attended back to school night for their kids vs. 13% of the poor
8.29% of the wealthy had one or more children who made the honor roll vs. 4% of the poor
9.63% of wealthy listen to audio books during their commute vs. 5% of the poor
10.67% of the wealthy watch 1 hour or less of T.V. per day vs 23% of the poor
11.9% of the wealthy watch reality T.V. shows vs. 78% of the poor
12.73% of the wealthy were taught the 80/20 rule vs. 5% of the poor (live off 80% save 20%)
13.79% of the wealthy network 5 hours or more per month vs. 16% of the poor
14.8% of the wealthy believe wealth comes from random good luck vs. 79% of the poor
15.79% of the wealthy believe they are responsible for their financial condition vs. 18% of the poor
The fact is the poor are poor because they have too many Poverty Habits and too few Rich Habits. Poor parents teach their children the Poverty Habits and wealthy parents teach their children the Rich Habits. We don’t have a wealth gap in this country we have a parent gap. We don’t have income inequality, we have parent inequality.
Parents and our schools need to work together to instill good daily success habits as follows:
◾Limit T.V., social media and cell phone use to no more than one hour a day.
◾Require that children to read one to two educational books a month.
◾Require children to aerobically exercise 20 – 30 minutes a day.
◾Limit junk food to no more than 300 calories a day.
◾Require that children set monthly, annual and 5-year goals.
◾Require working age children to work or volunteer at least ten hours a week.
◾Require that children save at least 25% of their earnings or gifts they receive.
◾Teach children the importance of relationship building by requiring them to call friends, family, teachers, coaches etc. on their birthdays and to send thank you cards for gifts or help they received from anyone.
◾Reassure children that mistakes are good not bad. Children need to understand that the very foundation of success in life is built on learning from our mistakes.
◾Punish children when they lose their tempers so they understand the importance of controlling this very costly emotion.
◾Teach children that seeking financial success in life is good and is a worthwhile goal. Children need to learn what the American Dream is and that it is something to be pursued in life.
◾Children need to learn how to manage money. Open up a checking account or savings account for children and force them to use their savings to buy the things they want. They need to learn that they are not entitled to things like cell phones, computers, fashionable clothes, flat screen T.V.s etc.
◾Require children to participate in at least two non-sports-related extracurricular activities at school or outside of school.
◾Parents and children need to set aside at least an hour a day to talk to one another. Not on Facebook, or on the cell phone, but face to face. The only quality time is quantity time
◾Teach children how to manage their time. They should be required to create daily “to do” lists and these lists need to be monitored by parents. The goal should be to accomplish at least 70% of their tasks on their daily “to do” list.
Wealthy people do certain things every single day that sets them apart from everyone else in life. Wealthy people have good daily success habits that they learned from their parents. These daily habits are the real reason for the wealth gap in our country and the real reason why the rich get richer. Unless we teach our children good daily success habits, and level the playing field, the rich will continue to get richer and the poor will continue to get poorer.
http://jonathanturley.org/2015/06/19/policing-for-dollars-federal-and-state-officers-take-life-savings-from-college-student-despite-the-dropping-of-all-charges/#comment-1462311
My comment from yesterday…….. and this IS pertinent to the discussion of asset seizure by the police and by the government. Everyone is hungry for cash,money, assets and the government especially so. This only leads to corruption as we see in the police asset forfeitures. Tip of the iceberg. The US government is toying with the idea of “centralizing” your personal IRA, 401K and taking control of your private pension plans. For your own good of course, since obviously they know way better how to manage money and manage your life than you do
😐
It is a dangerous world we are living in at this moment. Take care.
I may not be IN the business anymore, retired after over 20 years as a financial adivsor 🙂 But it seems that I still have my pulse on the industry
Top advisors recommend holding cash and other tips on how to avoid the coming cash crush and the seizure/stealing of your assets by the government.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/11686199/Its-time-to-hold-physical-cash-says-one-of-Britains-most-senior-fund-managers.html
The best strategy to deal with this, he said, was for investors to spread their money widely into different assets, including gold and silver, as well as cash in savings accounts. But he went further, suggesting it was wise to hold some “physical cash”, an unusual suggestion from a mainstream fund manager.
His concern is that global debt – particularly mortgage debt – has been pumped up to record levels, made possible by exceptionally low interest rates that could soon end, and he is unsure how well banks could cope with the shocks that may await.
He pointed out that a saver was covered only up to £85,000 per bank under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme – which is effectively unfunded – and that the Government has said it will not rescue banks in future, hence his suggestion that some money should be held in physical cash.
He declined to predict the exact trigger but said it was more likely to happen in the next five years rather than 10. The current woes of Greece, which may crash out of the euro, already has many market watchers concerned.
This is a very good podiast on the civil asset forfeiture law. Pick it up at the 17:10 mark.
http://hark.io/podcast/the-danger-of-civil-asset-forfeiture/
Hell of a burden for Obama. “Inheriting” all problems from Bush, Reagan, Nixon, Ike, Hoover, Coolidge, ,and Lincoln.
With those enormous burdens, I suppose he really can’t be blamed for not taking ownership or responsibility for anything post-2008.
For Obama apologists, “the buck” never stops.
Search Kate Bush
OK
one morehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOZDKlpybZE&list=RDQOZDKlpybZE
So, ya’ll think that Obama is the problem. Well look at what he inherited. This is it for tonight.