- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Civil Forfeiture: US Man Fights Back After $11K Seized at Kentucky Airport

© Sputnik / Mihail Kutusov / Go to the mediabankUS dollars
US dollars - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Charles Clarke, who had his $11,000 in life savings seized at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) in 2014, reached a settlement with the US government on Tuesday, as authorities returned his money with interest.

Clarke was a 24-year-old college student when airport authorities seized his cash through civil asset forfeiture, a questionable legal process in which police seize a person’s property if they are suspected of a crime, even if they are not convicted or charged, which Clarke was not. 

Danish custom officers start their work at the Oeresund Bridge border control between Denmark and Sweden on July 5, 2011 - Sputnik International
Cash to Daesh: Customs Seize Millions From Passengers to Middle East

Clarke was carrying the cash because he had recently moved and did not want his money to get lost.

He had been saving for the money for five years, and after a ticket agent claimed Clarke smelled like marijuana, agents made the logical connection, based only on their own experiences, that the money must be related to drug-trafficking activities. 

Clarke was represented pro bono by the Institute for Justice (IJ), a nonprofit civil liberties group. IJ noted that CVG had conducted almost 100 similar seizures in 2013, with over two million dollars falling into the hands of federal and local agencies.

At the time of the seizure Clarke was charged with disorderly conduct, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, after an officer claimed that Clarke became agitated and tried to keep authorities from taking his hard-earned money.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала