U.S. Marshalls Involved in Asset Forfeiture Scandal

The Federal Asset Forfeiture Program is a joke, and I believe a very strong reason that law enforcement does not want to see cannabis laws change. The ex-sheriff in my town used to drive around in a fancy Cadillac seized in a drug bust. I never could wrap my mind around the fact that your home could be seized because you grow a few plants. But it makes sense, if they take all your stuff not only do they make money but it deprives you of collateral you might need to hire a lawyer that might actually get you off the BS charges. Something needs to change before we aren't a so called democracy anymore.

 

It is all a criminal enterprise. The U.S. Marshalls are perhaps not the worst pigs (see the article on John T. Williams shooting), but you might just be wearing their handcuffs just before or after you read this.

When are the pigs going to realize that the shit they are handing out will be shoved straight back in their faces?

 

This reminds of when it was discovered that guns turned in for destruction during an amnesty where being taken home by police officers and resold on the market

(I'd post a link but cant find one..I think it was Toronto police about 2 or 3 years ago)

 

Yeah. It's a way of crippling someone's ability to defend himself.

Other times law enforcement pulls stunts like that out of spite. I was watching one of those COPS shows where two women borrowed a guy's truck and got pulled over. One had some drugs in her purse and got arrested. The guy who owned the truck refused to testify against the women, who were his friends. So, just to be jerks, the cops claimed that the truck was being used to manufacture drugs and put the truck up for auction.

And cops wonder why they have a bad reputation with the general public.

.

 

I don't watch American network TV. Is the COPS show a nonfiction series (real stories portrayed using real video footage, or real stories portrayed using actors), or is it a fiction series? Either way, it seems to me that Americans have a fascination with police, judging by their network offerings. Sort of like wanting to pet a cobra. It's all fun and games til they come for you. Ask the 2.3 million Americans behind bars on any given day. See http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_pri_per_cap-crime-prisoners-per-capita

 

Apt analogy.

I think the topic of corruption in police, like corruption in government is something we've sort of become desensitized to... it doesn't have the same shock value as in the 60's and 70's... no sense of urgency to stand up against entities whose very actions undermine their legitimacy to govern and police. We've been conditioned to think that it's okay as long as it isn't happening to us.

 

COPS is really supposed to be non-fiction. Is it? I have my doubts as I have seen it filmed on scene before. And they do a fine job making it look like it's the real deal. But how ultra pissy the pigs get when they see anyone that ain't one of them observing the shoot.
Almost....like.....they.....don't.....want.....anyone.....to.....know....?


And in this case I have to agree with you. It really is stupid. Watching exactly what they deplore. Or CLAIM to deplore, that is. Or at least it is with me.

I don't watch TV much, but when I do, I confess that I watch shows like COPS. I used to be an advocate for a couple of prisoners, and when I watch those shows (including fiction pieces like Law and Order), as a couple fellow advocates and myself would watch them and point out the screw ups. "Can't do that! Pig ain't got a warrant!" "No probable cause!" "Entrapment!" and stuff like that.

But that's from where I am. I find it baffling that people get a kick out of watching movies of people getting raped and murdered, yet when it happens in real life IF they pay attention to it they may say "how horrible", and let it go at that. But I feel that they are being desensitized by the militant scum in the government.

In a way it reminds me of a video I saw on a man that was minding his own business in Seattle, carving wood, and a cop shot him dead. No probable cause. No justification. The man was not a threat in anyway.
And no one seemed to care.

Someone should have told that pig that his swastika armband was upside down.

 

i will admit right here that if i knew a cop that could get me a deal on a new atv or a boat,car etc because of some drug dealers bad luck...well,,,,sorry dude...i am buying it... i break the law every day when i smoke pot..i wouldnt bat an eye to break it in a hundred other ways including conspiring to buy seized goods from a crooked cop

 

COPS is real. I have known multiple officers that were on it when it was filmed in Pittsburgh.

I love the show myself. I don't always like what the cops do (they really need to be more patient); but it's really interesting watching how they and the perps interact, and it's never bad to get some education when someday I could find myself in a somewhat similar situation.

 

What would you do if they pulled the civil forfeiture crap on ya?

 

More criminal activity by the US Gov and its friends... Why am I not surprised...

 

The same reason I'm not surprised... the US federal government is operating as a criminal organization and has long ago forfeited its moral authority to rule anything. The protective cover of silence on the part of the herd of sheeple it farms is what I find troubling.

 

The Feds recently seized our local music venue, Camp Zoe, after they arrested over 2000 people outside the gates over the past five years. Many of these people were arrested for failure to show identification, but they made a ton of drug busts. So they seized the ENTIRE CAMPGROUND because of the alleged "illegal activity" taking place. The Feds drained the Camp Zoe bank account used to pay artists and staff, but are now trying to charge the owner with "tax evasion" so that they may actually seize the property.

Funny thing is, the owner of the property has no involvement in any of this. The Feds have been stalking Camp Zoe attendees for years, and now they're finally stealing the land since they couldn't control the patrons.

It's absolutely disgusting.

 

When I read these things the word police state comes to mind. Police departments maintain para-military teams, we have one of the largest prison population of all industrialized countries, prisoners are used as slave labor for some very well know companies. Of course the forfeiture laws, the government even keeps track of the books you check out of the library, and let's not forget you can be arrested and held indefinitely for reasons they don't have to tell you as long as it's approved by secret courts outside of our public system. The info is out there, you just have to know where to look. We are quickly sliding down a slippery slope and if people don't speak up it will only get worse, hell look at what you have to go thru just to fly these days.