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!
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!