Hit 'em in the Bank Account

For several months an investigation from a Nashville television station has shown that police officers seem to be concentrating more on the traffic lanes with the money than on the ones that are transporting the drugs.

On I-40, time and experience has showed that drug traffic moves eastward and drug money traffic moves westward. An analysis of the logs shows that the police spend ten times as much time on the westbound side and even argue between agencies as to whose turn it is and who gets the biggest cut.

Some find this wrong, saying that their biggest concern should be to get the drugs off of the streets. But the District Attorney General Kim Helper says that the tactic being used now is to hit them in the pocket, where it really hurts. And, if the money collected goes to help fund the fight against drugs, then, all the better.

It’s interesting that the news article talked about a “controversial” stop made in 2009 where the police confiscated almost $200,000 in packaged money, and only reluctantly gave back the tractor-trailer to the owner. It seemed odd, perhaps, because the driver was not actually charged with any offenses. The article leads one to question whether the police had good reason to think that the money was really drug money. In fact, think about the tone of the article which begins by saying, “A major NewsChannel 5 investigation has uncovered serious questions about Tennessee's war on drugs. Among the questions: are some police agencies more concerned about making money off the drugs, than stopping them?”

But if you actually read the police report which is linked to the story, it seems pretty obvious that the fact that the big blocks of money were drug money. They were vacuum packed, wrapped in black carbon paper, fabric softener sheets and plastic wrap. They were hidden among the insulation in an area that was screwed shut above the driver’s head, and when they were identified by a K-9 dog as having traces of cocaine on them. Aside from that, the driver’s story showed some oddities and even though he was in an air-conditioned cab, he was sweating profusely.

Yes, there’s a law that allows the officers to take drug money away from people, and yes, safeguards need to be in place so that innocent citizens don’t lose their stash of cash (should they be carrying one!) But it would also help if news stories didn’t push to make situations sound worse than they actually are.