A North Carolina teenager was hoping to get her life back on track after a state judge ordered a man who sexually abused her to pay her $69,000. Instead, she got a nasty surprise.

The local police department had already seized the cash through civil asset forfeiture, and it was already gone. Despite a judge’s order, she will get nothing.

The case is a stunning example of the misplaced priorities and perverse incentives that asset forfeiture creates for police—and of how the federal government allows state and local police to evade reforms to stop forfeiture abuse.

  • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    120
    ·
    1 year ago

    The judge should make the dept pay her. How is this not the automatic result? I know, don’t explain it to me. I’m just mad.

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      102
      ·
      1 year ago

      Yeah, the money’s not gone. We know where it went, and there was no actual crime related to the money.

      Civil forfeiture is state-sponsored theft.

    • Madison420@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      1 year ago

      Can’t most departments seize for feds and get a cut in return, state civil asset forfeiture is getting less common because it’s getting easier to fight because it’s more known and everyone thinks it’s idiotic.