Trekkies Suing IL Police

[mrjarrell]

The trekkies who got pulled over in Illinois for a BS reason and then had their Rights violated by one of the boys in blue are suing. Good for them. I hope they take these guys to the cleaners and set a precedent that does some serious damage to these goons abilities to harass innocent people traveling on the highways. Hope it will stand as an example to cops everywhere. Now, if we could only get the money taken from the cops pockets and pensions, instead of the taxpayers, we'd be getting somewhere.

Terrance Huff Files Lawsuit Against Illinois Police Officer Michael Reichert Over 'Trekkie Traffic Stop'

 

[Roadie]

Remind me never to drive through there wearing my Star Trek t shirt..

 

[drillsgt]

Awesome, thanks for posting. I never thought i'd like something coming out of the Huffington Post.

 

[mrjarrell]

Awesome, thanks for posting. I never thought i'd like something coming out of the Huffington Post.

Indiana's own Radley Balko was the author. He's a great journalist and a great writer. Doesn't matter who pays his bills.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Now, if we could only get the money taken from the cops pockets and pensions, instead of the taxpayers, we'd be getting somewhere.

Well, we could, and I'm just throwing it out there because, you know, it's my hobby horse, have all judgments against the police for civil rights violations paid from police pensions.

 

[phylodog]

Well, we could, and I'm just throwing it out there because, you know, it's my hobby horse, have all judgments against the police for civil rights violations paid from [STRIKE]police pensions[/STRIKE] the guilty party's pension.

Fixed it for you

 

[churchmouse]

Fixed it for you

Nice work........

 

[Hotdoger]

Nice work........

Half done.
If he had included the guilty party's union too, it would have been correct.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Fixed it for you

No, taking it from the guilty party does not provide the proper incentive for the police to maintain an internal culture of respect for constitutional rights.

Perhaps you could have a priority in enforcing the judgment. Say the first 50% comes from the invidual officer(s) pension, but collective punishment must be included or you will not have the necessary internal blanket parties to keep rogue officers in line.

 

[mrjarrell]

Looks like there's at least one other officer, (likely more) who are rather sketchy in this department. I'd sure like to see someone tear into that department and dissect their procedures and actions, with an eye towards corruption. I'm betting this is a department that's gone all wrong.

Collinsville cop charged with unlawful stop of neighbor

 

[Lupin3rd]

Don't get any false sense of security just because we're in Indiana and not in Illinois or Ohio. According to the Institute for Justice, Indiana gets a disappointing C+ when it comes to civil forfeiture laws.

The Institute for Justice

 

[cobber]

Don't get any false sense of security just because we're in Indiana and not in Illinois or Ohio. According to the Institute for Justice, Indiana gets a disappointing C+ when it comes to civil forfeiture laws.

The Institute for Justice

Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly does civil forfeiture in Indiana (or anywhere) have to do with this case?

 

[mrjarrell]

Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly does civil forfeiture in Indiana (or anywhere) have to do with this case?

That's likely what the cop in the original story was fishing for, besides wanting to make an arrest. They get to keep what they steal and it looks good on your reviews if you're a good performing, raking in the cash. That's why Tennessee is so gungho to steal peoples money on the highway. They don't even have to prove a crime, just that you had a wad on you.

 

[cobber]

That's likely what the cop in the original story was fishing for, besides wanting to make an arrest. They get to keep what they steal and it looks good on your reviews if you're a good performing, raking in the cash. That's why Tennessee is so gungho to steal peoples money on the highway. They don't even have to prove a crime, just that you had a wad on you.

That's a jump from the issue at hand, which is the search. Did the prosecutor initiate forfeiture proceedings in this case?

What crimes can give rise to civil forfeiture in Illinois? Is the county in question notorious for abuses of the forfeiture law?

Seems the stop itself is sufficient grist for discussion, without speculating on what else could have been going on (but about which we have no information whatsoever).

 

[Lupin3rd]

It's not immediately obvious why civil forfeiture applies to the OP's article. In the first paragraph, there was a link to the original Huffington Post article reporting the whole incident. I read through the whole thing and it didn't mention that the man's money was seized until the last paragraph. It wasn't a well written article but the info is all there.

 

[Expat]

I just watched the video originally. I didn't realize they had gotten rid of him once but the court of appeals ordered him back...

 

[IndyDave1776]

That's a jump from the issue at hand, which is the search. Did the prosecutor initiate forfeiture proceedings in this case?

What crimes can give rise to civil forfeiture in Illinois? Is the county in question notorious for abuses of the forfeiture law?

Seems the stop itself is sufficient grist for discussion, without speculating on what else could have been going on (but about which we have no information whatsoever).

I would consider the forfeiture angle to be integral so far as being the obvious motive. My guess is that if, say the Supremes delcare forfeiture illegal across the board, then aggressive interdiction and questionable/illegal searches and seizures will drop down to nothing almost instantly.

 

[mrjarrell]

That's a jump from the issue at hand, which is the search. Did the prosecutor initiate forfeiture proceedings in this case?

What crimes can give rise to civil forfeiture in Illinois? Is the county in question notorious for abuses of the forfeiture law?

Seems the stop itself is sufficient grist for discussion, without speculating on what else could have been going on (but about which we have no information whatsoever).

Having money on you is enough in most jurisdictions. They can steal it then force you to prove it's legal money in court. "Can I search your vehicle" or "my dog alerted on something" should be replaced with what they're actually saying. "Stand and deliver".

 

[paddling_man]

The whole metro-east of St Louis should be considered suspect. Filthiest place I've ever seen...

 

[TiminMishawaka]

I just got back from working there for 2 weeks following the hail storm. Plenty of nice people but you couldn't pay me enough to live there. 1 hour north or south and right across the border maybe.....