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mahatmakanejeeves

(60,962 posts)
Mon Nov 24, 2014, 12:01 PM Nov 2014

D.C. Council votes to overhaul asset forfeiture, give property owners new rights

I don't care where you are positioned on the political spectrum, from all the way over on the left to all the way over on the right; you know that the policy that had been in place was wrong.

I'd cross post this at Free Republic if I were a member.

D.C. Council votes to overhaul asset forfeiture, give property owners new rights

By Robert O'Harrow Jr. November 18

The D.C. Council on Tuesday agreed to overhaul the city’s civil asset forfeiture program with a bill that would give property owners new rights and eventually require that seizure proceeds go into the city’s general fund rather than to the police department.

The council’s unanimous vote caps more than a year of debate over the department’s use of laws that allowed police officers to take millions of dollars in cash, cars and other property without charging the owners with crimes.

Advocates such as the District’s Public Defender Service said the bill is needed to curb police power and protect working-class property owners. Law enforcement authorities said it would create an administrative burden for the city and affect the department’s budget by reducing seizure revenue.
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@robertoharrow
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