{"id":115324,"date":"2019-02-01T16:52:30","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T20:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=115324"},"modified":"2019-02-01T16:58:59","modified_gmt":"2019-02-01T20:58:59","slug":"115324","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=115324","title":{"rendered":"LEGALIZED THEFT: Civil Asset Forfeiture Out of Control in America"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>TAKEN: How police departments make millions by seizing property<\/h1>\n<p><!--more-->Anna Lee and Nathaniel Cary and Mike Ellis, The Greenville News<\/p>\n<div id=\"asset-2697219002\" class=\"\">\n<div class=\"oembed-frame\">\n<h3 class=\"subheadline widont style-scope longform-story-topper\"><big>In South Carolina, civil forfeiture targets black people\u2019s money most of all, exclusive investigative data shows<\/big><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"longform-first-letter\">W<\/span>hen a man barged into Isiah Kinloch\u2019s apartment\u00a0and broke a bottle over his head, the North Charleston\u00a0resident called 911. After cops arrived on that day in 2015, they searched the injured man\u2019s home and found an ounce of marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>So\u00a0they took $1,800 in cash from his apartment and kept it.<\/p>\n<p>______<\/p>\n<p>When Eamon Cools-Lartigue was driving on Interstate 85 in Spartanburg County, deputies stopped him for speeding. The Atlanta businessman wasn\u2019t criminally charged in the April 2016 incident. Deputies discovered $29,000 in his car, though, and decided to take it.<\/p>\n<p>______<\/p>\n<p>When Brandy Cooke dropped her friend off at a Myrtle Beach sports bar as a favor, drug enforcement agents swarmed her in the parking lot and found $4,670 in the car.<\/p>\n<div class=\"full-width-container\">\n<div id=\"partner-inline-flex-0-container\" class=\"ad-container partner-bordered\" data-google-query-id=\"CJ-12JSSm-ACFUkNNwodG10L0g\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Her friend was wanted in a drug distribution case, but Cooke wasn\u2019t involved. She had no drugs and was never charged in the 2014 bust. Agents seized her money anyway.<\/p>\n<p>She worked as a waitress and carried cash because she didn\u2019t have a checking account. She spent more than a year trying to get her money back.<\/p>\n<p>______<\/p>\n<p>The Greenville News and Anderson Independent Mail examined these cases and every other court case involving civil asset forfeiture in South Carolina from 2014-2016.<\/p>\n<p>Our examination was aimed at understanding this little-discussed, potentially life-changing power that state law holds over citizens \u2014 the ability of officers to seize property from people, even if they aren&#8217;t charged with a crime.<\/p>\n<p>The resulting investigation became\u00a0TAKEN,\u00a0a statewide journalism project with an exclusive database and in-depth reporting. It\u2019s the first time a comprehensive forfeiture investigation like this has been done for an entire U.S. state, according to experts.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0TAKEN\u00a0team scoured more than 3,200 forfeiture cases and spoke to dozens of targeted citizens plus more than 50 experts and officials. Additionally, the team contacted every law enforcement agency in the state.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_115331\" style=\"width: 349px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.51.02-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115331\" class=\"size-full wp-image-115331\" src=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.51.02-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"339\" height=\"226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.51.02-PM.png 339w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.51.02-PM-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 339px) 100vw, 339px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-115331\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">siah Kinloch repairs the back heel strap of a pair of shoes for a friend.\u00a0<br \/>JOSH MORGAN\/STAFF<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This yielded a clear picture of what is happening: Police are systematically seizing cash and property \u2014\u00a0many times from people who aren\u2019t guilty of a crime \u2014\u00a0netting millions of dollars each year. South Carolina law enforcement profits from this policing tactic: the bulk of the money ends up in its possession.<\/p>\n<p>The intent is to give law enforcement\u00a0a tool to use against nefarious organizations by grabbing the fruits of their illegal deeds and using the\u00a0proceeds to fight more crime.<\/p>\n<p>Officers gather in places like Spartanburg County for contests with trophies to see who can make the largest or most seizures during highway blitzes. They earn hats, mementos and free dinners, and agencies that participate take home a cut of the forfeiture proceeds.<\/p>\n<p>That money adds up. Over three years, law enforcement agencies seized more than $17 million, our investigation shows.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve heard so many awful stories,\u201d said Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP\u2019s Washington bureau. \u201cHaving cash makes you vulnerable to an illicit practice by a police organization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a dirty little secret. It\u2019s so consistent with the issue of how law enforcement functions. They say, \u2018Oh yeah, we want to make sure that resources used for the trafficking of drugs are stopped\u2019 \u2026 but many of the people they are taking money from are not drug traffickers or even users.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These seizures leave thousands of citizens without their cash and belongings or reliable means to get them back. They target black men most, our investigation found \u2014\u00a0with crushing consequences when life savings or a small business payroll is\u00a0taken.<\/p>\n<p>Many people never get their money back. Or they\u00a0have to\u00a0fight to have their property returned\u00a0and incur high attorney fees.<\/p>\n<p>Police officials respond by saying\u00a0forfeiture allows them to hamstring crime rings and take money from drug dealers, a move they say hurts trafficking more than taking their drugs.<\/p>\n<p>In 2016, when a Myrtle Beach police unit broke up a sophisticated drug ring called the 24\/7\u00a0Boyz\u00a0that offered a dispatch system to order drugs and\u00a0have them delivered on demand, the police used seizure powers. They took cars, firearms, a four-bedroom house and $80,000.\u00a0They also arrested 12 people.<\/p>\n<p>Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson initially prosecuted the case before turning it over to the federal government.\u00a0In\u00a0January,\u00a010 of the 12\u00a0defendants\u00a0pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges.<\/p>\n<p>Richardson said taking a drug ring\u2019s operating cash strikes a critical blow against traffickers in a way that criminal charges don\u2019t. \u201cA drug enterprise is an onion, it\u2019s a multitude of layers,\u201d he said. \u201cSome tools hurt the traffickers, some hurt the enterprise itself. I feel this hurts the enterprise.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_115330\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.49.06-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115330\" class=\"size-large wp-image-115330\" src=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.49.06-PM-1024x676.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"423\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.49.06-PM-1024x676.png 1024w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.49.06-PM-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.49.06-PM-768x507.png 768w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.49.06-PM.png 1176w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-115330\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bobby Gore in his automotive shop in Nichols in 2018. He was putting his business and life back together after police seized cash from him.<br \/>LAUREN PETRACCA\/GREENVILLE NEWS<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Agencies also said funding for their work would be imperiled without the profit from this tool.\u00a0Clemson Police Chief Jimmy Dixon said losing those profits could shut down his agency\u2019s K-9 unit entirely. Undercover narcotics operations overall would suffer, Dixon said, citing limits on the department\u2019s\u00a0operating\u00a0budget.<\/p>\n<div id=\"asset-2643631002\" class=\"\">\n<div class=\"oembed-frame\">\n<p class=\"chapter-findings\">The TAKEN investigation key findings:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0 Black men pay the price for this program. They represent 13 percent of the\u00a0state&#8217;s\u00a0population. Yet 65\u00a0percent of all citizens targeted for civil forfeiture in the state\u00a0are black males.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese types of civil asset forfeiture practices are going to put a heavier burden on lower-income people,\u201d said Ngozi\u00a0Ndulue,\u00a0recently a\u00a0national NAACP senior director, now\u00a0working at the Death Penalty Information Center.\u00a0\u201cAnd when you add in racial disparities around policing and traffic stops and arrest and prosecution, we know this is going to have a disproportionate effect on black communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0 If you are white, you are twice as likely to get your money back than if you are black.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0 Nearly one-fifth of people who had their assets seized\u00a0weren&#8217;t charged with a related crime. Out of more than 4,000 people hit with civil forfeiture over three years, 19 percent were never arrested. They may have left a police encounter without so much as a traffic ticket. But they also left without their cash.<\/p>\n<p>Roughly the same number \u2014 nearly 800 people \u2014 were charged with a crime but not convicted.<\/p>\n<p>Greenville attorney Jake Erwin said\u00a0the overarching idea is that the money being seized\u00a0is earnings from past drug sales, so it&#8217;s fair game. \u201cIn theory, that makes a little bit of sense,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The problem is that they don\u2019t really have to prove that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In some states, the suspicions behind a civil forfeiture must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in court, but there is no requirement of proof in South Carolina. When a forfeiture is contested,\u00a0prosecutors only have to show a preponderance of evidence to keep seized goods.<\/p>\n<p>Police don\u2019t just seize cash.<\/p>\n<p>Practically anything can be confiscated and sold at auction: jewelry, electronics, firearms,\u00a0boats, RVs. In South Carolina, 95 percent of forfeiture revenue goes back to law enforcement. The rest is deposited into the state\u2019s general fund.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_115329\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.47.30-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115329\" class=\"size-large wp-image-115329\" src=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.47.30-PM-1024x676.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"423\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.47.30-PM-1024x676.png 1024w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.47.30-PM-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.47.30-PM-768x507.png 768w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.47.30-PM.png 1169w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-115329\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Law enforcement officers search a vehicle on Interstate 85 during Operation Rolling Thunder in Spartanburg County on May 1, 2018.<br \/>JOSH MORGAN\/STAFF<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0 Most of the money isn\u2019t coming from kingpins or money laundering operations. It\u2019s coming from hundreds of encounters where police take smaller amounts of cash, often when they find regular people with drugs for personal use. Customers, not dealers. More than 55 percent of the time\u00a0when\u00a0police seized cash, they took less than $1,000.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0 Your cash or property can disappear in minutes but take years to get back. The average time between when property is seized\u00a0and when a prosecutor\u00a0files for forfeiture\u00a0is 304\u00a0days, with the items in custody the whole time. Often, it\u2019s far longer, well beyond the two-year period\u00a0state law allows for a civil case to be filed. But only rarely are prosecutors called out for missing the filing window and forced to return property to owners.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0 The entire burden of recovering property is on the citizens, who must prove the goods belong to them and were\u00a0obtained legally. Since it\u2019s not a criminal case, an attorney isn\u2019t provided. Citizens are left to figure out a complex court process on their own. Once cases are filed, they have 30 days to respond. Most of the time, they give up.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong>More:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenvilleonline.com\/in-depth\/news\/2019\/01\/27\/trail-people-targeted-south-carolina-police-property-seizure\/2469207002\/#bradleyatwatersbills\">Hospital called police, who seized man&#8217;s money<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong>More:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenvilleonline.com\/in-depth\/news\/2019\/01\/27\/trail-people-targeted-south-carolina-police-property-seizure\/2469207002\/#brandycookestips\">She gave her friend a ride and lost her wages<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0 The bulk of\u00a0forfeited money finances law enforcement, but there\u2019s little oversight of what is seized or how it\u2019s spent. Police use it to pay for new guns and gear, for training and meals and for food for their police dogs. In one case, the Spartanburg County sheriff kept a\u00a0top-of-the-line pick-up truck as his official vehicle and sold countless other items at auctions.<\/p>\n<p>In many other places,\u00a0changes are being made:\u00a029 states have\u00a0taken\u00a0steps to reform\u00a0their forfeiture process.\u00a0Fifteen states now require a criminal conviction before property can be forfeited,\u00a0according to the Institute for Justice, a non-profit libertarian law firm.<\/p>\n<p>South Carolina lawmakers have crafted reform bills in recent General Assembly sessions, but none of the efforts made it out of committee.<\/p>\n<div id=\"asset-2676356002\" class=\"\">\n<div id=\"containerDiv\" class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"quote-wrapper\">\n<div id=\"iconCont\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<p>\u201cThe robber didn\u2019t get anything, but the police got everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>To critics, South Carolina is the\u00a0poster child for the injustice\u00a0inherent in the for-profit civil forfeiture system, said Louis Rulli, a law expert at the University of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p>Forfeiture doesn\u2019t square with the rest of the justice system, Rulli said. \u201cHow could it be possible that my property could be\u00a0taken\u00a0when I am not even charged with any criminal offense? It seems un-American,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Those who pay the biggest price\u00a0are black men. Men like Kinloch. While he was\u00a0hospitalized for a\u00a0head injury from\u00a0a\u00a0home intruder, North Charleston police removed money from the tattoo artist\u2019s\u00a0apartment.<\/p>\n<p>That department earns 12 percent of their annual operating budget from cash and property\u00a0seized under civil law, our investigation shows.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe robber didn\u2019t get anything, but the police got everything,\u201d said the 28-year-old Kinloch.<\/p>\n<p>Police charged him with possession with intent to distribute after\u00a0finding\u00a0the marijuana in his apartment, but the charge was dismissed.<\/p>\n<p>Kinloch never got his cash back.<\/p>\n<p>Rent was due.<\/p>\n<p>Without his $1,800, he couldn\u2019t pay the landlord and was forced out of his\u00a0home.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong>More:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenvilleonline.com\/in-depth\/news\/taken\/2019\/01\/27\/taken-isiah-kinloch-north-charleston-sc-police-civil-forfeiture-investigation\/2460456002\/\">He fought off a robber, but police seized his $1,800<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<p><em>Kinloch isn&#8217;t alone as a black man facing forfeiture over small,\u00a0or nonexistent,\u00a0criminal charges in South Carolina.\u00a0Our investigation found that black men make up the largest share by far of people targeted for civil forfeiture, much higher than even the drug arrest or incarceration rate for black men. Read about our exclusive findings here:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_115327\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.45.22-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115327\" class=\"size-large wp-image-115327\" src=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.45.22-PM-1024x679.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.45.22-PM-1024x679.png 1024w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.45.22-PM-300x199.png 300w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.45.22-PM-768x509.png 768w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.45.22-PM.png 1170w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-115327\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Johnnie Grant plays with daughter Alayna in 2018. He is putting his life back together after a lot of personal challenges recently<br \/>JOSH MORGAN\/STAFF<\/p><\/div>\n<h2 id=\"blackmenpaythepriceforsccivilforfeitureprogram\" class=\"chapter-marker\">Black men pay the price for SC\u00a0civil forfeiture program<\/h2>\n<p>Atlanta musician Johnnie Grant jerked awake in the back seat as blue lights flashed and a Greenville sheriff&#8217;s deputy leaned in to question his driver.<\/p>\n<p>Grant, his photographer and a videographer were on their way to a show in Charlotte in March 2017.<\/p>\n<p>The deputy picked out his target among hundreds of cars that pass through the stretch of Interstate 85 near White Horse Road every hour. He said he pulled over the rented Chevrolet Malibu and its three black occupants for following too closely.<\/p>\n<p>He and other deputies soon asked the men to step out of the car, searched it and found 1.5 ounces of marijuana inside a jar in the videographer\u2019s backpack.<\/p>\n<p>When deputies opened\u00a0Grant\u2019s bag,\u00a0they found $8,000 wrapped in rubber bands.\u00a0All\u00a0three were charged with marijuana possession, even though the videographer explained it was his personal stash. The deputies\u00a0took Grant\u2019s cash and told him it was drug money.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I\u2019d have been white, I guarantee you they wouldn\u2019t have\u00a0taken\u00a0my money,\u201d the 30-year-old\u00a0Grant\u00a0said. \u201cThey probably wouldn\u2019t have even searched my car. They probably wouldn\u2019t have even pulled me over.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It fits the pattern. Black men carry the burden of South Carolina&#8217;s civil forfeiture program. Almost two-thirds of people targeted\u00a0by forfeiture are black males, according to\u00a0TAKEN\u00a0investigation data analysis. Yet they represent just 13 percent of the general population.<\/p>\n<p>Hilary Shelton, the NAACP Washington bureau director, said the organization worries the racial targeting in South Carolina is even worse than has been reported.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCivil asset forfeiture, combined with the historic and consistent problems of racial profiling on our highways and byways, becomes\u00a0very much part of a troubling equation,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been used in a racially discriminatory manner. The law must be fully reviewed.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"southcarolinaslegallegacy\" class=\"chapter-marker\">South Carolina\u2019s legal legacy<\/h3>\n<p>The state has a long history of racial discrimination related to property.<\/p>\n<p>Civil forfeiture is a vestige of that history, some critics say. It links to an established trend of targeted law enforcement that puts more police in contact with non-whites, an exposure that can lead to civil forfeiture, experts say.<\/p>\n<p>Some departments have built a money-making machine on the backs of this type of targeting.<\/p>\n<p>It starts with where police use forfeiture. It&#8217;s happening in every urban environment in South Carolina. There are only six cities in the state with a population over 50,000. All of them frequently use forfeiture.<\/p>\n<p>In smaller towns, only about half the police forces use the tool at all, and most agencies don\u2019t pursue many\u00a0cases.<\/p>\n<p>The system is designed to be applied at scale. The more forfeiture is used, the more money police have at their disposal for equipment, training and for undercover drug purchases.<\/p>\n<p>Though the racial disparities in the data exist broadly across the state, the decisions that lead to civil forfeiture are situational. It\u2019s a traffic stop, or a drug investigation that leads to a residence, or increased patrols\u00a0in low-income or historically black neighborhoods.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenvilleonline.com\/story\/news\/taken\/2019\/01\/27\/taken-civil-forfeiture-investigation-greenville-news-anderson-usa-today-network-journalism\/2458361002\/\">The\u00a0TAKEN\u00a0team<\/a>\u00a0used census data to analyze the widest disparities between the number of forfeiture cases\u00a0with\u00a0black subjects\u00a0compared with\u00a0the number of black residents in an agency\u2019s jurisdiction.<\/p>\n<p>The largest racial gaps? The highest disproportionate targeting of black people came from the Myrtle Beach Police Department, followed by the Lexington County Sheriff\u2019s Office and the Charleston Police Department.<\/p>\n<p>During 2014-2016, there was one black person targeted for forfeiture by Myrtle Beach police for every 50 black residents who live there. If you roughly extrapolated that rate over a generation, one in five black people would have money or goods\u00a0taken\u00a0by police in Myrtle Beach at some point over three decades, despite the fact that the city is mostly white.<\/p>\n<p>The city is 69 percent white and just 14 percent black, according to 2014 U.S. Census data.<\/p>\n<p>In Greenville County, black people were targeted for forfeiture at a rate of one per every 587 black residents during our three-year study period.<\/p>\n<p>In comparison, forfeiture affected one white person per every 4,139 white residents in the county. Greenville County is 69 percent white and 19 percent black, according to U.S. Census data.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt just\u00a0sort\u00a0of reinforces an understanding we already knew \u2014 that black residents disproportionately come in contact with law enforcement given the way criminal justice policy is oriented in this country,\u201d said Nicole Porter, spokeswoman at The Sentencing Project, a reform advocacy group.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"onereasontrafficstops\" class=\"chapter-marker\">One reason: Traffic stops<\/h3>\n<div id=\"asset-1499673002\" class=\"full-width-container\">\n<div id=\"mainContainer\" class=\"unselectable\">\n<div id=\"bigPlayBttnContainer\">\n<div id=\"bigPlayBttn\" class=\"big-play-bttn-container\">\n<div id=\"iconCont\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"still\"><picture id=\"picture\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/03\/PGRE\/9d58eb7e-2706-46b8-a13e-48e2b3c04a2e-Johnnie2.jpg?height=237\" media=\"(max-width: 420px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/03\/PGRE\/9d58eb7e-2706-46b8-a13e-48e2b3c04a2e-Johnnie2.jpg?height=360\" media=\"(min-width: 420px) and (max-width: 1024px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/03\/PGRE\/9d58eb7e-2706-46b8-a13e-48e2b3c04a2e-Johnnie2.jpg?height=576\" media=\"(min-width: 1024px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"still-img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/03\/PGRE\/9d58eb7e-2706-46b8-a13e-48e2b3c04a2e-Johnnie2.jpg\" alt=\"Rapper's friend had drugs but cops took his money instead: TAKEN\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A piece of this policing story is tied to the highway and police behavior and assumptions.<\/p>\n<p>In one case, a Wellford\u00a0officer pulled over a black man on Interstate 85 for what he said was failure to maintain a lane. When he discovered cash in the car that day in 2012, the officer called in the top Homeland Security agent in Greenville to help seize it. They\u2019d found what police said were \u201cmarijuana particles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The North Carolina driver, Lee Harris Jr., said it was tobacco. The officers took $7,008 from the glove box.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI call them pirates,\u201d said Lee Harris Sr.,\u00a0the driver&#8217;s father. The elder Harris is a minister and a military veteran who said the money comes from his bank and from documented Social Security and benefits.<\/p>\n<p>Harris said he had left $7,000 in the car when his son went on a trip to Atlanta. He filed a lawsuit, and after a year-and-a-half, he settled. The government kept $2,008 even though Harris&#8217;\u00a0son was never charged with a crime.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes police seize cash when the driver is merely ticketed for\u00a0a minor violation not related to drugs, according to court records.<\/p>\n<p>Ramando\u00a0Moore was cited for having an open container in Richland County in 2015; he lost $604.<\/p>\n<p>Plexton\u00a0Denard Hunter was pulled over for a seatbelt violation in 2015 in Richland County and had $541 seized. Tesla Carter, another seatbelt violation, this time in Anderson in 2015. She lost $1,361.<\/p>\n<div id=\"asset-2680977002\" class=\"\">\n<div class=\"oembed-frame\">\n<p class=\"map-headline\">South Carolina agencies with the highest rate of seizure of property from black people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>If you\u2019re black and driving in South Carolina, you are\u00a0more likely to be stopped by police. In 24 states with available race data by traffic stop, the state had the second highest rate of black motorists stopped by state troopers, according to a 2017 study by the Stanford Open Policing Project.<\/p>\n<p>In Greenville County, there were 24 state patrol stops for every 100 black residents of driving age.\u00a0There\u00a0were only 15 stops for every 100 white residents in the nine-year study period, according to the project.<\/p>\n<p>Officers have a lower threshold to search black drivers than white drivers, the Stanford research shows, evidenced by data that revealed when officers searched drivers, they found contraband more often on white drivers than black\u00a0ones.<\/p>\n<p>Yet the scope of action\u00a0taken\u00a0by law enforcement and the justice system against black Americans throughout U.S. history makes it easier for an officer to take from a black person than a white person, said Heather Ann Thompson, a criminal justice and African-American history professor at the University of Michigan and author of \u201cBlood in the Water.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong>Part 2 of TAKEN:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenvilleonline.com\/in-depth\/news\/taken\/2019\/01\/29\/civil-forfeiture-south-carolina-errors-delays-property-seizures-exclusive-investigation\/2460107002\/\">How civil forfeiture errors, delays enrich SC police, hurt people<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the same reason black people\u00a0are prosecuted more harshly, are incarcerated more often and for longer sentences and face civil fines and penalties more often than whites. They\u2019re just not as likely to be able to marshal resources to fight back against the justice system, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has everything to do with who has access to good defense lawyers and who\u2019s getting pulled over to begin with,\u201d said Thompson, who\u2019s a leading voice in criminal justice reform.<\/p>\n<p>The racial disparity may begin with traffic stops, but it extends well beyond them in South Carolina.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"apolicingsystembuilttotargetminorities\" class=\"chapter-marker\">A policing system built to target minorities<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_115326\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.44.26-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115326\" class=\"size-large wp-image-115326\" src=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.44.26-PM-1024x678.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.44.26-PM-1024x678.png 1024w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.44.26-PM-300x199.png 300w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.44.26-PM-768x509.png 768w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.44.26-PM.png 1172w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-115326\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ella Bromell sits in her home in Conway on Feb. 21, 2018. These days, she rarely leaves her yard\u00a0<br \/>LAUREN PETRACCA\/GREENVILLE NEWS<\/p><\/div>\n<p>How often are black people\u00a0in this state the victim of civil forfeiture when the police encounter doesn\u2019t involve being pulled over in a car?<\/p>\n<p>Excluding known traffic stops, police seized money from black people in two-thirds of all cases compared with one-third for whites, our\u00a0TAKEN\u00a0data analysis shows. It\u2019s an even more startling fact when considering South Carolina is 69 percent white.<\/p>\n<p>Ella Bromell, a 72-year-old widow from Conway, twice nearly lost her home, though she\u2019s never been convicted of a crime in her life.<\/p>\n<p>Yet the city of Conway nearly succeeded in seizing her house because they said she didn\u2019t do enough to stop crime happening on the sidewalk and in her yard. Young men were using her lawn as a location to sell drugs at night, according to court records.<\/p>\n<p>The fight between Conway officials and Bromell,\u00a0who is black,\u00a0began in 2007 and lasted a decade \u2014 culminating in court in 2017\u00a0when two judges sided with her and wrote that the city \u201cfailed to produce any evidence that the residence was an integral or otherwise fundamental part of illegal drug activity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, Bromell fears the city will try again, despite the police admission in court that they couldn\u2019t say if she was even aware of a single drug sale around her house.<\/p>\n<p>Conway City Manager Adam Emrick said the city has contemplated future seizures in the case of Bromell or similar property owners.<\/p>\n<p>Losing her home would be the end of her, Bromell said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to go nowhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thurmond Brooker, Bromell\u2019s attorney, said the law is being warped without the public even noticing. \u201cIt&#8217;s being used in a way in which innocent people can have their property taken,\u201d he said. \u201cLittle old ladies whose property is being trespassed upon can be victimized for a second time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Why are\u00a0black\u00a0citizens like Bromell facing forfeiture more often than their white neighbors?<\/p>\n<p>One police official said it\u2019s because there\u2019s more drug crime in the black community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe go where we\u2019re called,\u201d Greenville Police Chief Ken Miller said. \u201cWe police where people are telling us there are problems. We\u2019re not an agency \u2014\u00a0and I don\u2019t know\u00a0a police agency \u2014\u00a0that tries to balance racially its interdiction of drugs off the street.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bulk of the drugs and weapons calls the city receives are in minority communities, Miller said. He said he won&#8217;t apologize if police tactics disproportionately engage black men and lead to more seizures.<\/p>\n<p>In Greenville County, the Sheriff\u2019s Office\u00a0initiated 256 forfeiture cases\u00a0from 2014-2016, of which 150 involved blacks and 85 involved whites.<\/p>\n<p>Greenville city police had 89 cases. Of those, 53 involved blacks and 22 involved whites.<\/p>\n<p>Miller said the city has spent time and money on racial bias training and is working to better track data on traffic stops.<\/p>\n<div id=\"asset-1499926002\" class=\"full-width-container\">\n<div id=\"mainContainer\" class=\"unselectable\">\n<div id=\"still\"><picture id=\"picture\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/02\/PGRE\/f31d175c-5fc8-42b5-a901-a666a822584e-Main.jpg?height=237\" media=\"(max-width: 420px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/02\/PGRE\/f31d175c-5fc8-42b5-a901-a666a822584e-Main.jpg?height=360\" media=\"(min-width: 420px) and (max-width: 1024px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/02\/PGRE\/f31d175c-5fc8-42b5-a901-a666a822584e-Main.jpg?height=576\" media=\"(min-width: 1024px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"still-img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/10\/02\/PGRE\/f31d175c-5fc8-42b5-a901-a666a822584e-Main.jpg\" alt=\"SC police seize millions through civil forfeiture: TAKEN\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>David Smith,\u00a0one of the architects of the expanded forfeiture laws enacted in the 1980s to fight the War on Drugs, said it\u2019s a great tool for going after significant criminals. Drug lords. White collar masterminds. But increasingly\u00a0forfeiture has been co-opted by local police forces to take petty cash on the side of the road, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Grant, the Atlanta musician,\u00a0said he understands how police work and knew right away he would fight to get his money back, even if it cost him legal fees.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They knew we were young, and we were black,\u201d Grant said. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenvilleonline.com\/videos\/news\/taken\/2019\/01\/28\/rappers-friend-had-drugs-but-cops-took-his-money-instead-taken\/1499673002\/\">They pulled us over<\/a>, gave us a bogus reason. We didn\u2019t consent to search; they searched anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grant&#8217;s\u00a0drug charge was dismissed, and though he had proof\u00a0that he earned his money legally \u2014 show schedules, payment receipts, contracts \u2014 it could have taken another two years before he could challenge the forfeiture in court. So\u00a0Grant chose to settle rather than wait.<\/p>\n<p>The state got $500. He got $7,500 back but had to pay his attorney $2,500.<\/p>\n<p>His case was considered a good outcome.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re the ones being railroaded,\u201d Grant said. \u201cIt just speaks volumes to where we are as a people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong>More:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenvilleonline.com\/in-depth\/news\/taken\/2019\/01\/27\/taken-ella-bromell-conway-sc-civil-forfeiture-investigative-journalism\/2459430002\/\">For years, a SC city tried to seize a widow&#8217;s home. It still might.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong>More:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenvilleonline.com\/in-depth\/news\/taken\/2019\/01\/27\/taken-johnnie-grant-sc-civil-forfeiture-rapper-greenville-investigation\/2459384002\/\">Atlanta rapper fought the law and won<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Enjoying the TAKEN investigation series? Please support local journalism by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/offers.greenvilleonline.com\/E-AC\">subscribing to The News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Have you lost property through civil forfeiture? Or do you have information about the practice we should know?\u00a0We&#8217;d like to hear about it. Or about any investigative tips we could work on. Contact our reporters at taken@greenvillenews.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>______<\/p>\n<div id=\"asset-2714562002\" class=\"\">\n<div class=\"oembed-frame\">\n<div class=\"greenville-taken-chapters-findings\">\n<h3>The TAKEN investigation series:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Episode 1, Jan. 28:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenvilleonline.com\/in-depth\/news\/taken\/2019\/01\/27\/civil-forfeiture-south-carolina-police-property-seizures-taken-exclusive-investigation\/2457838002\/\">Citizens are losing millions to forfeiture<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Episode 2, Jan. 30:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenvilleonline.com\/in-depth\/news\/taken\/2019\/01\/29\/civil-forfeiture-south-carolina-errors-delays-property-seizures-exclusive-investigation\/2460107002\/\">Examining South Carolina\u2019s broken system of property seizure<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Episode 3, Feb. 4:\u00a0<\/strong>Highway sweeps mean hunt for cash<\/li>\n<li><strong>Episode 4, Feb. 6:\u00a0<\/strong>Two little towns turned a big profit. More could.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Episode 5, Feb. 11:\u00a0<\/strong>Police grabbed his money out of the mail<\/li>\n<li><strong>Episode 6, Feb. 13:\u00a0<\/strong>Massive cases, little detail, delay. What to do about it?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Also, check out\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/greenvillenews\/\">our Instagram content\u00a0<\/a>for TAKEN.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>BACKGROUND: Journalists in the Greenville News and Anderson Independent Mail newsrooms spent two years on this investigative project.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenvilleonline.com\/story\/news\/taken\/2019\/01\/27\/taken-civil-forfeiture-investigation-greenville-news-anderson-usa-today-network-journalism\/2458361002\/\">Here&#8217;s why<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"asset-1489110002\" class=\"full-width-container\">\n<div id=\"galleryWrapper\" class=\"container\">\n<div id=\"mosaicWrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/montage\/3c\/presto\/2018\/10\/01\/PGRE\/c092ac44-30f1-409e-ae40-fe9b0d71274d-JM.FOR.Johnnie.082718.001.jpg;\/presto\/2018\/10\/01\/PGRE\/e6bcaaf1-a18b-4381-92c2-b6c480cc0739-JM.FOR.Johnnie.082718.002.jpg;\/presto\/2018\/10\/01\/PGRE\/05386104-df4a-4014-9806-30afbc717a86-JM.FOR.Johnnie.082718.003.jpg?width=640&amp;padding=6&amp;bg-color=ffffff\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"media-badge-overlay\">\n<div id=\"container\">\n<div id=\"textArea\" class=\"text-container text-inline\">View<span id=\"pipe\" class=\"pipe\">|<\/span>12 Photos<\/div>\n<div id=\"iconArea\" class=\"icon-container icon-inline\">\n<div id=\"iconCont\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"title\">Musician dealt with roadside cash seizure in Greenville, despite drugs that weren&#8217;t his<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"asset-2728559002\" class=\"\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.42.25-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-115325\" src=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.42.25-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"667\" height=\"635\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.42.25-PM.png 667w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-01-at-3.42.25-PM-300x286.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Originally Published 11:47 p.m. EST Jan. 27, 2019<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenvilleonline.com\/in-depth\/news\/taken\/2019\/01\/27\/civil-forfeiture-south-carolina-police-property-seizures-taken-exclusive-investigation\/2457838002\/\">https:\/\/www.greenvilleonline.com\/in-depth\/news\/taken\/2019\/01\/27\/civil-forfeiture-south-carolina-police-property-seizures-taken-exclusive-investigation\/2457838002\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TAKEN: How police departments make millions by seizing property<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=115324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115324\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=115324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=115324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=115324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}