Civil rights suit by poker pro challenges alleged forfeiture 'machine' in Iowa
An unusual civil rights suit filed by a poker pro and a friend claims Iowa State Patrol officers carried out illegal traffic stops in an effort to collect cash for the state’s drug interdiction unit.
The suit (PDF) alleges that police, with the help of training company Desert Snow, turned a forfeiture tool intended to fight large drug cartels “into a veritable machine, devouring cash and property from thousands of out-of-state motorists, many of whom are innocent and ‘guilty’ of nothing more than carrying their hard earned cash in their vehicle.” The Washington Post has a report.
The plaintiffs are poker professional William Barton Davis and glass blower John Newmerzhycky of Humboldt, California, who say they were pulled over in Iowa based on an alleged failure to signal a lane change that never happened. A video shows there was no violation, yet police ended up stopping the men and getting a drug dog to sniff the vehicle. After the dog alerted, police found a drug grinder with some flakes of marijuana and $100,000 in cash. The men say the money was their gambling bankroll; police seized it.
After hiring a lawyer, the men reached a deal with police and received 90 percent of the seized money. They filed the civil rights suit Sept. 29.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said in a statement provided to the Washington Post that the forfeiture law is an important tool to deny criminals the fruits of their crimes, and any abuses of the law are isolated. Desert Snow’s lead instructor, David Frye, told the newspaper the suit is without merit and it has “outrageous” and “inaccurate” accusations.
Meanwhile, the New York Times has a story on seminars taught by city officials and prosecutors in which police are taught how to seize cash. Videos of three of the seminars were provided by the Institute for Justice, which is targeting asset-forfeiture abuses. “In the sessions,” the Times says, “officials share tips on maximizing profits, defeating the objections of so-called ‘innocent owners’ who were not present when the suspected offense occurred, and keeping the proceeds in the hands of law enforcement and out of general fund budgets.”
Police were advised to go after cars, flat-screen TVs and cash, but to avoid jewelry, which is hard to dispose of. Among the seminar speakers were a city attorney and a prosecutor.
