Arrest, Search, Seizure, Warrant police seized money w/o arrest or ticket

[kurz88]

My best friend's nephew was a passenger in a car riding through a little town near ATL on yesterday (5/13/05). They were not speeding, driving erratically or anything. A police car pulled up behind them with lights. One policemen asked to see the license of the driver and asked who the car belonged to--which was the driver's father. The other policeman came to the nephew in the passenger seat and said that the driver said it was ok to search the car (which he didn't). The police found a sizable amount of cash (about $6000) that the nephew was carrying. He just graduated from college and was carrying that money from graduation gifts, tax refund, job, and was bringing the cash to pay back child support and to blow the rest in celebrating his graduation with his friends.

The wisdom of this decision to carry that much cash is not the point. The point is that the police Mirandized the nephew. He asked if he were under arrest; he was told no. He asked if he were being charged with a crime; he was told no. He asked for his money back; he was told that he would have to follow them to the police station. They did (traveling through so many backwoods roads that they didn't know where they were). When they got to the station, the police gave him a receipt for the money. No police report, no ticket, just a receipt. Nephew asked to use the phone to call his attorney--the police said he could use a phone to call collect. This was about 1 am. Nephew refused. When the nephew complained that he didn't have any money to even return home, the police counted out $300 in singles that they pulled out of some other bag and sent him on his way. They wouldn't even tell them how to get back on the highway and they were lost for an hour.

Nephew's uncle works for state investigating bad cops in another state and the uncle says that this kind of behavior happens all the time.

What are the nephew's rights in this case and how can he get his money back? BTW the police were white and the nephew is african-american. Surprise!

 

[mountainbaby]

What Happened????

A similar thing happened to me just a few days ago. My boyfriend and I were traveling and we stopped at a gas station. A police car pulled up behind us and told us we were suspicious and that there had been some robberies in the area lately, although this was 6:00 in broad daylight and we were simply walking our dog and giving her water. They proceeded to harass us and finally searched the car and found a large amount of cash that my boyfriend and I had saved for years. They told us they were confiscating the money and gave us a receipt for it and that we would have to show proof of origin for the money. I feel my rights were completely violated. Is a person not allowed to travel and have cash on them anymore? What kind of country am I living in? If anyone can give any advice on this situation I would appreciate it.

 

[skinnykid]

Why doesn't anything happen to police officers that do things that violate peoples rights or go against police procedure, and eventually have evidence thrown out because of it? I am dealing with a case right now of very similar circumstances. The way the officer that pulled my vehicle over and handled the situation was so ass backwards and wrong, but he found something through it all. He said we were speeding yet never even attempted to write us a ticket. That's just the beginning. So does the end justify the means? Do cops have the right to pretty much do whatever they want to now, as long as they find something? I mean, I'm lucky enough to be able to get a lawyer, what about those who can't? Somebody who is in jail, or on probation, because a cop violated his right in some way, broke the law, and obtained some evidence (it could be entering somebodies house without permission, or doing a search on a car withouth consent, etc, whatever) but the person coudn't afford a lawyer and is screwed because of it. How is that right? Or am I just completely wrong because that's very possible.

 

[cmlzip]

Because people very seldom, if ever, file a complaint against a police officer although you have every right to. Don't forget the police work for the citizens, not the other way around. If you feel that you were stopped and the police was not acting in a professional manner with you, you should file a complaint against that officer. It will remain in his file and I promise you, it will straighten him up or ship him out. Most people are simply intimidated about going to the courthouse to request such a demand be filed or they just feel they're comment won't make any difference so why waste the time. The police must treat you in a professional manner, end of discussion. Even if they say you were lying about the encounter, your complaint is still filed on record.