You can drive into this dusty fleck of a town near the Texas-Louisiana border if you’re African-American, but you might not be able to drive out of it—at least not with your car, your cash, your jewelry or other valuables.

That’s because the police here allegedly have found a way to strip motorists, many of them black, of their property without ever charging them with a crime. Instead they offer out-of-towners a grim choice: voluntarily sign over your belongings to the town, or face felony charges of money laundering or other serious crimes.

More than 140 people reluctantly accepted that deal from June 2006 to June 2008, according to court records. Among them were a black grandmother from Akron, who surrendered $4,000 in cash after Tenaha police pulled her over, and an interracial couple from Houston, who gave up more than $6,000 after police threatened to seize their children and put them into foster care, the court documents show. Neither the grandmother nor the couple were charged with any crime.

“We try to enforce the law here,” said George Bowers, mayor of the town of 1,046 residents, where boarded-up businesses outnumber open ones and City Hall sports a broken window. “We’re not doing this to raise money. That’s all I’m going to say at this point.”

But civil rights lawyers call Tenaha’s practice something else: highway robbery. The attorneys have filed a federal class-action lawsuit to stop what they contend is an unconstitutional perversion of the law’s intent, aimed primarily at blacks who have done nothing wrong.

In some cases, police used the fact that motorists were carrying large amounts of cash as evidence that they must have been involved in laundering drug money, even though Guillory said each of the drivers he contacted could account for where the money had come from and why they were carrying it—such as for a gambling trip to Shreveport, La., or to purchase a used car from a private seller.

Once the motorists were detained, the police and the local Shelby County district attorney quickly drew up legal papers presenting them with an option: waive their rights to their cash and property or face felony charges for crimes such as money laundering—and the prospect of having to hire a lawyer and return to Shelby County multiple times to attend court sessions to contest the charges.

The process apparently is so routine in Tenaha that Guillory discovered pre-signed and pre-notarized police affidavits with blank spaces left for an officer to describe the property being seized. Full Story

This small redneck town of 1046 residents lives up to its’ Hollywood stereotype whereby tourists passing through are preyed upon by uneducated hillbillie types. The sheriff probably owns the gas station and the saloon where undoubtedly an inbred local plays a Banjo on the porch.

State Senator John Whitmire contends that the search and seizure law in Texas is a good tool for law enforcement but it is being mis-used.  I contend that the law exists precisely because it is a method for the police to seize your property and cash without any due process. Anyone with 2 brain cells could have foreseen this scenario unfolding with such an outrageously ambiguous law on the books.

A Marion County corrections officer and his girlfriend face child neglect charges after a boy was left handcuffed in a home.

Police say 24-year-old Sydney Eghan used his department-issued handcuffs on his girlfriend’s 12-year-old son. He cuffed the boy behind his back around 8 p.m. Friday and left for work at the Marion County Jail. The boy’s mother, 30-year-old Betsy Chestnut, told police that Eghan handcuffed the boy as punishment.

Investigators say Eghan cuffed the boy’s hands behind his back, using a method that most officers wouldn’t use on a prisoner.

“It appears that he failed to double-lock the handcuffs,” Sgt. Mount said. “It’s what’s normally done when handcuffs are placed on a prisoner. That makes sure that those handcuffs cannot tighten down any further.”

Police say as the boy moved his hands, the cuffs got tighter and became painful. He woke up around 2 a.m. crying, asking for help.

Police lights are stacked and fastened inside the windshield and rear window of Eghan’s personal Honda. His badge of authority is also in clear view in the front seat.

The laws on flashing lights in civilian vehicles vary and most don’t apply unless the lights are turned on. But law enforcement officers are often held to a higher standard within their departments to ensure they don’t abuse their power when they’re off-duty. Full Story

Hey Sydney, looks like it’s your turn to learn a lesson.  Jail is what happens to jerks like you who abuse your power.  What was this kids supposed crime, anyhow?  He “stole” your girldfriend’s cell phone, you say?  Really?  Maybe … and I know this is a stretch here… but maybe he was “borrowing” it to make a phone call.  Ever think of that? 

And while I’ve got your attention, Sydney, what exactly is a deputy in the department of corrections doing with police lights in his personal car?  Maybe you are playing highway patrolman in your spare time? You’ve been a bad boy, haven’t you Sydney?

King County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Schene plead not guilty to fourth degree assault over what took place in the video shown below. If convicted he only faces a maximum of one year in jail.

The video was taken on November 29th in a SeaTac, Washington holding cell, south of Seattle, Washington. The video shows deputy Schene, another deputy, and a 15-year-old girl, (now identified as Malika Calhoun), he arrested on suspicion of auto theft for driving her parents’ car. Full Story

Fourth degree assault? You’ve got to be kidding me! Paul Schene should be strung up by his balls. Instead he won’t serve 1 day of jail, and may not even lose his job. The girl flipped her shoe in the deputy’s direction, defiantly, but no way on earth can that be interpreted as a violent act justifying use of force.  The deputy later required treatment on his shin and tries to blame the girl’s shoe for his injury, but the video shows he injured his shin on the metal toilet during his furious assault on the defenseless girl. Watch that video and feel your blood boil.