Authorities In Alabama Sued Over Abusive Speed Trap

Law enforcement in the town of Castleberry, AL, are alleged to have a police force that is 5x the national average per capita.

And the speed trap that they've been operating in the area is alleged to have gotten a little out of control, with frequent confiscations taking place on a regular basis. This is a small town that has a population of only about 550+ people and the authorities there are being accused of misusing the speed trap in order to pull over out-of-towners so that they can take their money and their belongings without ever arresting or charging them with any crime; civil asset forfeiture.

The average police presence in the US is alleged to be roughly 16.6 officers for every 10k people, but Castleberry with only a small population of 500+ already has had 5 officers, making their police presence equal to 90.9 per 10k people.

A lawsuit has been launched against the town of Castleberry and the former police chief.

The police department in this town has also previously come under fire for their neglect at responding to emergency calls by residents in the area. There have allegedly been multiple conflicts over their dispatching issues.

When the authorities confiscate the assets from travelers going through the speed trap, all they need to say is that they believe it to be connected to criminal activity (sans evidence) and they can then confiscate the property. This seemingly criminal behavior has eroded the semblance of justice in the eyes of many and has consequently fueled heavy criticism from the public. Many legal experts and others have called for an end to civil asset forfeiture for some time now, as it allegedly encourages law enforcement to engage in corrupt policing for profit tactics.

For the unlucky folks who have found themselves traveling through this small town in Alabama, many of them have had their cash confiscated or even their vehicles taken. And later many were allegedly forced to pay roughly $500 for an impound fee in order to get their car released to them, those who were lucky enough to get it back. In some cases, it's alleged that victims had to pay cash directly to the police chief at the time, and in some of those cases they allegedly weren't given any official receipts.

Police departments around the US have been accused of misusing this practice of civil asset forfeiture in order to boost their budgets.

But if they need and are looking for a little extra funding, they shouldn't have to steal it from the people who they are supposedly in position to serve and protect. Even the former mayor of Castleberry hasn't disputed the idea that this speed trap activity is being used to pad the budget.

At the moment, there are at least 15 plaintiffs who have accused the former police chief and the town of negligence. In other words, they are arguing that the police were exercising unreasonable policing methods in using civil asset forfeiture practices to convert private assets belonging to citizens, to police assets.

Authorities in the town have also been accused of fraud and false imprisonment.

Thus far, the chief and town have allegedly sought to have the case dismissed under the justification that they should be immune from the claims. However, the defendants still remain adamant about bringing attention to the apparent corruption at play.

As it stands currently, officers in Alabama are able to keep 100 percent of the proceeds that they confiscate during civil asset forfeiture procedures. So we can see that there is a very lucrative incentive for police to continue with their business as usual, even if it has been harshly criticized and deemed by many to be an unconstitutional practice.

Pics:
Pixabay
AA Roads via aaroads.com/guide.php?page=u0031nbal

Sources:
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/10/post_153.html
http://blog.al.com/live/2013/07/castleberry_police_chief_our_l.html
http://www.governing.com/gov-data/safety-justice/police-officers-per-capita-rates-employment-for-city-departments.html

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