Nos Estados Unidos, as agências responsáveis pela aplicação da lei têm o poder de confiscar os bens dos suspeitos de actividade criminosa. À primeira vista, isso parece um tanto razoável. Contudo, o limiar de suspeita de envolvimento criminoso é perigosamente baixo e permite que as agências responsáveis pela aplicação da lei abusem do poder conferido através do confisco civil. Como resultado, muitos cidadãos inocentes tiveram os seus bens confiscados e os seguintes casos de abuso de confisco civil são particularmente flagrantes.
10 Agentes da DEA apreendem US$ 16.000 do Amtrak Traveler
Depois de economizar dinheiro suficiente para seguir carreira na indústria musical, Joseph Rivers, 22 anos, comprou uma passagem de trem só de ida para Los Angeles. Para os agentes da DEA, esse ato por si só – juntamente com o fato de que ele estava viajando com uma grande quantidade de dinheiro – foi suficiente para suspeitar que Rivers estava envolvido no tráfico de drogas ou em alguma outra “ atividade narcótica ”.
Outros passageiros que viajavam no trem Amtrak notaram que Rivers, um jovem afro-americano, foi o único passageiro apontado pela DEA. Seu advogado, Michael Pancer, sugeriu que a raça de Rivers pode ter influenciado, já que ele era o único passageiro negro em seu trecho do trem.
Durante a busca e posterior apreensão de seu dinheiro, Rivers disse que cooperou totalmente e até permitiu que os agentes da DEA contatassem sua mãe para corroborar sua história. Rivers implorou aos agentes que ficaria sem um tostão ao chegar à Califórnia, sem meios de sobrevivência e sem como voltar para casa. De acordo com Rivers, “[Os agentes da DEA] me informaram que era minha responsabilidade descobrir como faria isso”.
Rivers não foi acusado de nenhum crime e não há indicação de que algum dia o será, mas a DEA ainda conseguiu apreender legalmente todos os US$ 16 mil que ele carregava. A explicação da DEA para a apreensão foi particularmente preocupante: “Não temos de provar que a pessoa é culpada. É que se presume que o dinheiro é culpado.”
9 Casa de casal da Filadélfia é apreendida após filho ser preso por maconha
Em 2012, Leon e Mary Adams tiveram seus bens confiscados porque seu filho, Leon Jr., supostamente vendia maconha na varanda da frente deles sem o seu conhecimento. Embora Leon Jr. tenha sido de fato acusado de um crime, ele teria vendido quantidades muito pequenas – “alguns negócios de maconha de US$ 20” – e o casal não teve nada a ver com a atividade criminosa. Leon Jr. ainda não tinha sido condenado pela actividade criminosa quando a polícia afirmou que iria apreender a propriedade que era a casa de Leon e Mary Adams desde 1966 .
De acordo com o Departamento de Polícia da Filadélfia, Leon Jr. vendeu US$ 20 em maconha a um informante da polícia em várias ocasiões. Após a primeira venda, o informante foi até a varanda da casa dos Adams em mais duas ocasiões para comprar novamente US$ 20 em maconha. Com evidências na forma de notas marcadas e o testemunho ostensivo do informante, a Polícia da Filadélfia usou uma equipe da SWAT com equipamento de choque para arrombar a porta da casa e prender Leon Jr. Um mês depois, Leon e Mary Adams foram informados de que em além de seu filho estar preso enquanto aguarda julgamento, sua casa também seria confiscada de acordo com as leis de confisco civil.
Os lucros da venda da casa apreendida seriam divididos entre a polícia e o Ministério Público após a venda em leilão. A única razão pela qual a polícia não despejou Leon e Mary Adams antes que pudessem contestar a reivindicação de confisco civil foi que o Leon Adams mais velho estava enfrentando uma série de problemas de saúde e estava em tratamento para câncer de pâncreas.
O caso de confisco ainda está pendente. Durante uma audiência inicial no tribunal, o promotor público assistente designado para o caso Adams levou a pasta errada ao tribunal, causando mais atraso no processo.
8 Motorista perde US$ 3.500 por ‘parecer um traficante de drogas’
In a case highlighted in an NAACP letter to Congress, an African-American man was pulled over traveling from Virginia to Delaware, allegedly for having a taillight out. The taillight had actually been functioning properly, but this ploy allowed the officer to size up the driver for a potential search and seizure through the use of civil asset forfeiture. The driver, according to the officer, “looked like a drug dealer,” which was apparently reason enough for the officer to enlist a drug-sniffing dog to search the man’s car.
After the search did not turn up any drugs or any other evidence of illegal activity, the officer asked if the driver was carrying any guns, drugs, or money. Though the driver had no firearms and no drugs, he did state that he had $3,500 in cash. The officer promptly seized the driver’s cash. Despite not finding any evidence that could support an arrest, they said that the money could only be the profits of drug dealing and was thus subject to legal seizure under civil forfeiture laws. The driver was never charged with any crime.
7 Motel Seized From Owner Due To Drug Arrests Of Patrons
In 2009, Russ Caswell was informed by federal agents that his motel was being seized because the property had been used during the commission of drug crimes. The crimes cited by the federal agents occurred over a 20-year period and included 15 arrests in total, but all of the arrests were of patrons of the motel, not of Caswell or any of his employees. So though Caswell and his staff had actually helped police in securing many of these arrests and had not been even remotely implicated in any criminal activity, the federal agents still sought to seize his property.
Even though the case seemed “ludicrous” to Caswell, he was still forced to endure three years of litigation in which the government tried to permanently seize his property, which he owned outright and was worth in excess of $1 million. He paid $60,000 to fight the suit, and even then, Caswell had to rely on pro bono work from an attorney to continue to plead his case. After three years of court battles, the forfeiture case was ultimately dismissed. However, as is true of all forfeiture cases, the onus was on Caswell to prove his innocence rather than on the government to prove his guilt.
6 Traveler Has $11,000 Seized From Luggage Alleged To Smell Of Marijuana
Charles Clarke was waiting to board a flight to Orlando when police approached him and questioned him about the contents of his luggage. A police dog had detected the smell of marijuana in a bag checked by Clarke, and Clarke admitted that he had smoked marijuana on the way to the airport. He also asserted to police that there was no marijuana in the bag itself.
Knowing that there was nothing illegal in the bag, Clarke consented to a search of its contents. When the police asked if Clarke was carrying any cash with him, he willingly informed officers that he had $11,000 and even showed them where it was. Since he could not provide any immediate documentation proving the $11,000 was lawfully earned, the police seized the money under the assumption that it was either the profits of narcotics trafficking or was being carried with the intent of purchasing narcotics.
Since Clarke was unaware that police could lawfully seize what amounted to his life savings without any tangible evidence of wrongdoing, he became combative when officers informed him they would be taking his money. In trying to keep the officers from his cash, he pushed one of them away, leading police to charge him with assault of a police officer, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.
The assault charge was immediately dismissed, but Clarke had to agree to perform community service to get the disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges dropped. Of course, the $11,000 will remain with law enforcement unless Clarke is able to successfully contest the legality of the forfeiture.
5 Philadelphia Family Has Home Seized Due To Son’s Drug Use
After their son Yianni was arrested for possession of $40 worth of heroin, Christos and Markella Sourovelis had their home seized by officials in Philadelphia, who contended that not only was Yianni in possession of heroin but that he was also selling it. The sales allegedly took place in the home or in front of the home, and though the Sourovelis family had no knowledge of the criminal activity, civil asset forfeiture laws allowed officials to evict the Sourovelis family from the home with no prior notice .
Though the Sourovelis family was ultimately able to return to their home eight days after they were evicted, the district attorney’s office used the forfeited house as leverage to ensure that Yianni, who was 22 at the time, would be permanently banned from the home to prevent future drug sales. While the Sourovelises were back in the home relatively quickly, the process of resolving the case took several months of court proceedings to determine whether or not they would be able to permanently remain in their home.
4 Donald Scott Killed During Drug Raid Aimed At Seizing 250-Acre Malibu Property
In October 1992, multiple law enforcement agencies executed a search warrant on the home of Donald Scott, a somewhat reclusive millionaire who had rejected repeated overtures made by federal officials to sell his property. The property, which had archaeological ties to the Chumash, was believed by federal officials to be the site of a large marijuana growing operation. During the raid on the home, Scott’s wife screamed, “Don’t shoot me! Don’t kill me!” after deputies entered the home, which led Scott, who had been sleeping, to check on the disturbance while carrying a revolver.
When deputies encountered Scott, they demanded that he lower his gun. As he lowered the handgun, deputies opened fire and killed him on the spot. The deputies and other law enforcement officials then began their search of the home, leaving Scott on the floor unattended. In a recorded phone call from a neighbor that took place shortly after the shooting, the sheriff’s deputy who answered the phone told the neighbor that Scott, whose body was still lying in a pool of his own blood, was “ busy .”
During the subsequent search of the property, officials turned up no evidence of any marijuana on the property. While the search for marijuana was used as the rationale for the raid on Scott’s home, it was later discovered that officials from multiple law enforcement agencies had discutiu a apreensão da casa and had even researched appraisals of similar properties in the area before executing the raid. In a report written by Michael Bradbury, the District Attorney of Ventura County, it was determined that property forfeiture was indeed one of the primary motivations for the raid.
3 Couple Forced To Choose Between $6,037 And Custody Of Their Children
When Ron Henderson was pulled over by police in Tenaha while traveling from Houston to Linden, Texas, the officer informed him that he had been pulled over for traveling in the left lane for over half a mile without passing. During the stop, the officer claimed to smell marijuana. When asked if there were any drugs in the car, Henderson and his girlfriend, Jennifer Boatright, replied that there were not. The couple then consented to a search of the car, which yielded a glass pipe and $6,037 in cash, which the couple said they intended to use to buy a car when they arrived in Linden. No drugs of any kind were found in the vehicle.
The officers escorted Boatright and Henderson to the local police station, where they met with the county’s district attorney, Lynda K. Russell. The DA informed the couple that they had two options: They could be charged with money laundering and child endangerment, or they could simply sign a waiver to turn the $6,037 over to the city. The DA informed the couple that being charged with multiple felonies would land Henderson and Boatright in jail, and Child Protective Services would take custody of their children as a result, so the couple signed the cash over to the city rather than lose their children and face felony charges.
The situation experienced by Boatright and Henderson is a common one in Tenaha, as officers take full advantage of civil forfeiture laws as a means of generating revenue. After the city marshal fielded constant complaints from drivers passing through Tenaha who had endured similar circumstances, he simply complimented the officer on a job well done, saying, “ Be safe, and keep up the good work .”
2 Restaurateur Has One-Year-Old Baby Taken Away And $50,291 Seized
In another incident involving the same Tenaha police officer and district attorney, restaurant owner Dale Agostini was pulled over on the same stretch of highway as Jennifer Boatright and Ron Henderson for the same reason: driving in the left lane without passing. After using what turned out to be an untrained police dog to sniff the vehicle, officers found over $50,000 in cash but no evidence of drugs. Agostini explained to the officers that he had family in the area and he intended to buy restaurant equipment at a local auction with the cash he was carrying. At the time, Agostini was traveling with his fiance and their one-year-old child, along with a cook who worked at Agostini’s restaurant.
Agostini and the passengers were informed by Lynda K. Russell, the district attorney who had arrived on the scene, that they would face charges for money laundering and for engaging in organized criminal activity, and the baby would be turned over to Child Protective Services. The car, the $50,000, six cell phones, and an iPod were all seized.
When Agostini learned that he was being jailed and his child was being taken away, he asked if he could kiss his son goodbye, a request that was summarily denied. Russell was later heard on tape coldly joking about Agostini’s request, recalling that she said, “ No, kiss me .” Agostini also asked to be permitted to speak with a lawyer, only to be told such a request could not be granted until he had spent at least four hours in jail. No criminal charges were ever filed.
1 Father And Son Subjected To ‘Profiling For Profit’
Stephen Skinner e Jonathon Brashear estavam passando pelo Novo México em uma viagem para Las Vegas, quando foram parados por viajarem 8 quilômetros (5 milhas) acima do limite de velocidade. O policial estadual do Novo México que fez a parada inicial emitiu uma advertência por escrito sobre a infração de velocidade e depois pediu permissão para revistar o veículo, que era um carro alugado.
Um cão farejador foi chamado e o policial desmontou partes do veículo durante a busca, mas não encontrou nenhuma evidência de drogas. O policial notou, no entanto, a presença de quase US$ 17 mil em dinheiro. O policial deteve Skinner e Brashear por duas horas, referindo-se pejorativamente a Skinner ao chamar o homem afro-americano de 60 anos de “menino”, antes de dizer-lhe, após sua libertação, que “ ainda não havia acabado ”.
Assim que a dupla chegou a Albuquerque, eles foram parados novamente – desta vez por uma mudança indevida de faixa pelo Departamento de Polícia de Albuquerque. Esta paragem, no entanto, foi apoiada pela presença de um agente do Departamento de Segurança Interna, que prontamente apreendeu o dinheiro e o carro, deixando Skinner e Brashear no aeroporto sem dinheiro e sem meios de transporte.
Demorou dois anos e a intervenção da ACLU antes que o dinheiro fosse devolvido a Skinner e Brashear, e o incidente não foi a primeira vez que os funcionários de Albuquerque enfrentaram críticas por abusarem das leis de confisco: o condado de Bernalillo e Darren White, o ex-xerife, foram obrigados por um juiz para pagar mais de US$ 3 milhões em danos às pessoas que tiveram dinheiro apreendido pelos deputados do xerife, uma vez que foi determinado que esse dinheiro foi apreendido com a intenção principal de fornecer fundos adicionais para o orçamento da polícia .
