Beginning in May 2011, NewsChannel 5 began an investigative series exposing how some Tennessee law enforcement agencies had become more focused on profiting from the illegal drug trade, instead of stopping the flow of illegal drugs into the state.
At the center of that "Policing for Profit" investigation was the state's civil forfeiture laws, which allow agencies to seize cash based on the suspicion that it's drug money.
One of those people interviewed was Kim Helper, district attorney general for Tennessee's 21st Judicial District, and she was apparently unhappy with the outcome.
Instead, it showed one of her agents offering two suspected drug couriers the chance to go free -- if they turned over their cash. It questioned whether "the rules have been twisted by laws that let agencies keep the money they seize."
No comments:
Post a Comment