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In fact, in 2014 federal agents used civil asset forfeiture to confiscate more money and property from Americans than burglars took.

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Or do we wait until they are killing more innocents than the murders they are supposed to be stopping?

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The Lone Star state, that free-market paradise where government is anathema to basic civic values, actually shakes down average people of millions of dollars in assets with relative impunity and ease.

The Institute for Justice found that the ten Texas agencies that used civil asset forfeiture the most “take in about 37 percent of their budgets in forfeiture funds.� Their report also found that rural (read: poor) agencies were some of the most brazen looters, even as the state claimed the large number of seizures was due to urban agencies apprehending large-scale drug traffickers.

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Those fighting a forfeiture action may be required to appear as many as a dozen times in court, over the course of months or even years, before a case reaches its conclusion. An analysis of more than 8,000 asset forfeiture cases filed in 2010 showed that the 17 percent of cases (or roughly 1,400) in which respondents appeared at least once took more than eight times as long, an average of 260 days, as first-listing judgments. Further, respondents who did fight their cases were required to come to court an average of five times before their cases were completed. More than 100 respondents were required to come to court 10 times or more — risking a default judgment against them if they failed to appear just once. By September 2012, roughly 9 percent of the cases were still listed as “active� — an average 695 days after they were filed.

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You could always get a public defender if the fuckhole county you're in deems you poor enough and if you want to lose.

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Federal statutory law provides for a right to counsel in certain types of federal court proceedings, such as civil forfeiture of a primary residence or proceedings involving those in active military service.

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Federal statutory law provides for a right to counsel in certain types of federal court proceedings, such as civil forfeiture of a primary residence or proceedings involving those in active military service.

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During the calls, the first of which was made at 4:18 a.m. the day after Christmas and the last of which was placed three minutes later, he repeatedly said that he needed help and wanted an officer sent to his address.

The 911 dispatcher sounded frustrated by Quintonio's refusal to answer her questions, and at one point, she terminated one of the calls.

When asked what was wrong, LeGrier responded: "Someone is ruining my life."

The fourth call, placed at 4:24 a.m., was made by Quintonio's father Antonio LeGrier, who asked for police assistance to the same address.

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Police fatally shot Bettie Jones, a neighbor of the LeGriers who answered the door to the building, and Quintonio. Police later called Jones' shooting an accident. LeGrier was shot six times and Jones was shot once, according to autopsies by the Cook County medical examiner's office.

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Quintonio's mother, Janet Cooksey, has since said publicly that her son, who was studying engineering, had mental health issues.

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Loomis, a veteran of 23 years, vowed to get the fired officers' jobs back. There is "no rhyme or reason" to the dismissals, and he said he and other officers are scratching their heads because the firings seem random, as if names were picked out of a hat.

"This is nothing but politics. I have every confidence in the world we're going to get their jobs back. I'm not going to stand for it," Loomis said.

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Six Cleveland police officers have been fired in connection with a November 2012 car chase that ended with officers firing 137 bullets at a car, killing Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, said Detective Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association.

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The chase started the night of November 29, 2012, when a couple in a car sped away from an undercover officer.

Their engine backfired, sputtering and producing a loud bang in the tailpipe. Prosecutors said officers mistook the noise for gunshots, and a high-speed chase ensued.

Investigators said as many as 62 police cars joined at speeds of up to 100 mph through the streets of Cleveland.

After the chase, Russell rammed a police car in a middle school parking lot, police said.

That's when the bullets started flying.

An investigation revealed 13 police officers fired more than 100 times in eight seconds.
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Russell and Williams were both homeless with a history of mental illness and drug use, according to Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigations. Witnesses said they were most likely looking to buy drugs that night. A police officer ran a license plate check of the 1979 Chevy Malibu that Russell was driving. He had gotten it from a relative, and the check came back clean.

Still, the officer tried to pull him over for a turn signal violation. Russell then sped away.

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About 80% of the 1,800 maintenance logs they reviewed found that cops routinely tampered with their dashcam systems and waited months for repairs.

Only two cars at the scene of the McDonald shooting had operating dashcams that could capture video and four other police vehicles had systems that couldn’t record audio, DNAinfo reported.

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Matthews said that although there is "always room for education and improvement" he asked that the public reserve judgment of the video until all the facts are known.

"What makes our job more difficult is when people try and provoke law enforcement into doing something that isn't necessary," Matthews said.

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Picard said he does not protest the checkpoints to antagonize law enforcement officials but because he disagrees with their effectiveness and to exercise his constitutional rights.

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Picard said he was issued a $178 ticket, but that when he went to court earlier this month a prosecutor offered to nullify the charges if he paid a $25 fine. He said he refused and wants the charges dropped outright or he plans to try the case in court.

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Picard said he has protested about six DUI checkpoints in the past year or so. He was charged with reckless use of the highway for a similar run-in at a state police DUI checkpoint on Jennings Road in Hartford.

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"What makes our job more difficult is when people try and provoke law enforcement into doing something that isn't necessary," Matthews said.

(Malcolm @ Jan. 29 2016,12:40)

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The more I think about, the more every single one of the cops should be immediately fired from the force.  If they can't be trusted to handle a couple protesters on the side of the road without trying to frame them for a crime, then they've got no biz getting near other, more serious investigations or situations.

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One concern Jackson had was that his ex-partner, Steppe, has a fiance who is an officer on the police force.

“In the entire investigation,� Gensler told the news station, “that never came into play.�

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Months went by. Then, Jackson was mailed a citation for petty theft, a Class C misdemeanor. Court documents show that the city attorney’s office offered him a plea deal in exchange for the phone, according to WFAA. But Jackson got a lawyer and opted for a trial in municipal court, according to the news station.

Court documents state that the case was first filed with the city court, but that “due to the lack of cooperation by the defendant during court,� the prosecutor in the case asked that police file it as a harsher Class B misdemeanour in a county court.

Late one night last April, Jackson was woken up by police, placed in handcuffs and taken to jail.

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State officials had previously confirmed that an employee at the detention center failed to make all required visual bed checks. In a statement, the Kentucky Justice Cabinet said the employee has been placed on special investigative leave with pay.

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Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Donaldson called Zieleniewski a "wannabe cop" who doesn't like black people.

"At least give me the satisfaction of knowing you were out there beating up n*****s right now," said a text sent to Zieleniewski in 2015 that was read aloud during a hearing. "LOL," Zieleniewski responded months after the Dent arrest, apparently referring to someone else. "Just got done with one."

After Dent was pulled from the car, Melendez placed Dent in a chokehold and began punching him in the face and head.

Dent was then shot with a Taser multiple times and taken to jail. Dent testified that he requested medical care multiple times before being hospitalized hours later.

According to Rohl, Dent suffered a fractured left orbital, blood on the brain, four broken ribs and spent three days in the hospital.

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Since taking office in 2014, Brooklyn’s district attorney, Kenneth P. Thompson, has overseen a broad review of potentially wrongful convictions, an endeavor that has been watched closely across the country by prosecutors, defense lawyers and inmates.

“If that same effort were put in across the country, we’d find many more of these cases,� Mr. Gross said.

Official misconduct played a role in 65 of the exonerations in 2015, the registry said, and false confessions were seen in 27. The most common reason inmates were ultimately cleared, in 75 of the cases, was that no crime had even occurred.

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Psychologist Rafael Salcedo said he believed McRae was suffering from the early onset of post-traumatic stress disorder by the time he burned the car containing Glover's body, and that it diminished McRae's ability to realize the action was wrong.

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“I have no tolerance for corruption at any level in this department,� said NYPD Police Commissioner William Bratton.

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Liang acknowledged that he didn't immediately report the shot. Fearing for his job, he bickered with his partner about which one would phone their sergeant.
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Prosecutors say that Liang did not try to help Gurley, even as his girlfriend, Melissa Butler, tried to resuscitate him. Liang said he thought it would be better to wait for professional aid.