Highway Robbery in Tenaha Texas

[John7714]

Source: Chicago Tribune

TENAHA, Texas— 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.

But in 147 others, Guillory said the court records showed, police seized cash, jewelry, cell phones and sometimes even automobiles from motorists but never found any contraband or charged them with any crime. Of those, Guillory said he managed to contact 40 of the motorists directly—and discovered all but one of them were black.


Read more: http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/chi-texas-profiling_wittmar10,0,2996775.story

[truthisfreedom]

1. Freaky. I hope they put a stop to it immediately.

Sickening.

[Dogtown]

2. K&R n/t

[WriteDown]

3. Sounds like something out of "Desperation."

Nuts!

I remember when driving into New Orleans and getting pulled over was no safe bet.

[nichomachus]

4. Reason # 234,796 not to go to Texas n/t

[roguevalley]

9. truly. they are nuts down there in some places.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

13. I don't agree...

I think a lot of folks should go to Texas, specifically to visit Tenaha...many many people on the same day.

[FiveGoodMen]

5. Those cops should...

1) Be skinned alive

2) Be nailed to a cross

3) Be set on fire while they're up there

4) Be buried in nuclear waste

5) Be cursed till the end of time

Powerwise, much is required from him to whom much is given.

[Lucky Luciano]

6. Sounds like a good plan....

This is freaky shit...sounds like a creepy B-Movie and is shocking that it is reality.

[GillesDeleuze]

12. id settle for..

having federal agents kick in their door, shoot their dog, plant cocaine and feel up their spouses.

you know, cop shit.

[FiveGoodMen]

14. Okay, but leave the dog out of it

;)

[pattmarty]

7. This should be President Norris first action when he takes...........

...........the office in the lone star state. Get his militia into this town and blow the fuck out of the town, the mayor and police chief.:sarcasm:

[Cirque du So-What]

8. It's not just Texas either

http://www.splcenter.org/news/item.jsp?aid=320

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91555835

Police departments in these southern states are actually becoming dependent upon this STOLEN property to meet budgetary needs. I'd like to see the federal government get involved with this on the basis of civil-rights violations (racial profiling).

[FiveGoodMen]

16. Rule number 1: Law enforcement agencies should not PROFIT (financially) from their activities

This story goes way beyond any pale, but fines etc. should never be part of any law enforcement budget.

Cops and their departments are not above temptation.

[Wizard777]

18. The US Congress needs to end this unconstitutional practise.

[patrick t. cakes]

34. about ten years ago i was pulled over outside mccombs mississippi

for speeding. i was given the option of having money western unioned to me (which was) but mysteriously
it never showed up. i was then informed by the police that if i had any thing of value the bonds man would except that as

collateral until i returned (from iowa) on the date of my hearing. i had a brand new handheld camcorder in my trunk
that the cop knew about because of the extensive roadside search of my vehicle. the camcorder was valued at over 500 dollars at

the time. the bonds man was more than willing to except this as collateral until i returned (from iowa) on the court date.
he was extremely helpful and evan returned me to my car which was left on the side of the interstate, where i was allowed to drive away again.

ive always had a weird suspicion about that whole ordeal. everyone seemed in on the take.

[superconnected]

10. More than 140 people...

That went on for way too long. I understand. Those people were probably afraid to report it to the FBI, like I would have instantly done.

[chollybocker]

11. The money quote:

And contender for quote of the year, from the Mayor, no less:

Tenaha Mayor George Bowers, 80, defended the seizures, saying they allowed a cash-poor city the means to add a second police car in a two-policeman town and help pay for a new police station.
"It's always helpful to have any kind of income to expand your police force," Bowers said.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/Property_seizures_seen_as_piracy_.html

Yes Mr. Mayor, extortion has always been a very profitable endeavour.

[OneBlueSky]

15. place reminds me of an old Paul Simon song . . .

"Tenaha, ten-a-ha-ha, she's got diamonds on the soles of her shoes" . . . :shrug:

[tomm2thumbs]

17. I keep picturing banjos playing and Burt Reynolds

I hope they are weeded out by the feds as they are obviously interrupting interstate commerce - I hope they drop down on that town like a ton of bricks.

[Tuvok Obama]

19. k&r

[davepc]

20. Another success story from the War On Drugs!

All the asset seizure laws on the books are an (unconstitutional) development from the War on Drugs.

[fishwax]

21. I hope they bankrupt the town and put some of those officials behind bars

:grr:

[Wabbajack_]

22. "This is fucking awful

[LynneSin]

23. Sounds like something Brad Wesley from "Roadhouse" would do

:scared:

[bitchkitty]

24. Louisiana did it too - used to, anyway. n/t

[Posteritatis]

25. As usual these days, the comments on the news article are eye-opening (nt)

[BreweryYardRat]

26. As far as I'm concerned, behavior like this from police...

...ought to get them the death penalty.

[Blue_Tires]

27. and i bet almost every one of those cops would claim to be a freedom-loving constitutionalist

but yeah, a lot of police departments (GA, FL, LA, and elsewhere) have been playing fast and loose with the asset forfeiture laws, but i'd have never thought something this brazen would still be going on today...that entire town's government and police force just need to be broken up and let the citizens work with the county...

[jpak]

28. Pfffffft - They did this in Ludowici Georgia for years...until Lester Maddox stopped it

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,909123,00.html

[Blue_Tires]

29. another related story:

wow...this has been ongoing for awhile -- this story is all over the web



...Supporters tout the state’s forfeiture law, when used right, as an essential law enforcement tool, allowing state and local departments the ability to go after criminals — using the crooks’ money. Law enforcement agencies last year captured tens of millions of dollars from such seizures statewide, according to records from Whitmire’s office.

But in Tenaha, a town of chicken farms that hugs the Louisiana border, critics say being a black out-of-towner passing through with anything of value is seen as evidence of a crime.

Tenaha Mayor George Bowers, 80, defended the seizures, saying they allowed a cash-poor city the means to add a second police car in a two-policeman town and help pay for a new police station.

“It’s always helpful to have any kind of income to expand your police force,” Bowers said.

Local police, he said, must take aggressive action to stem the narcotics trade that flows through town via U.S. 59 — drugs heading north, cash going south.

“No doubt about it. (U.S. 59) is a thoroughfare that a lot of no-good people travel on. They take the drugs and sell it and take the money and go right back into Mexico,” said Bowers, who’s been Tenaha’s mayor 54 years.

Bowers said he’d defer questions about whether innocent people were being stripped of their property to Shelby County District Attorney Lynda Russell.

Russell couldn’t be reached for comment, and her attorney declined comment.

Randy Whatley, a local constable who himself deposited more than $115,000 into the county’s seizure account for fiscal year 2007 (state records show $45,000 eventually was returned to its owners), also couldn’t be reached for comment.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/Property_seizures_seen_as_piracy_.html

[Blue_Tires]

30. at least i have a new, shiny example to point to

when RW colleagues tell me there is no such thing as racial profiling anymore....

[AnneD]

31. This is nothing new......

the internet makes it harder to get away with this crap. There us to be some bad cops in a small town next to us. They always stopped teens and took away any liquor they found-even if you were legal (18 at the time). They also took your pot and wouldn't charge you.

There are some Louisiana police that let the power of the badge go to their heads and are worse than any armed robber. It has been that way for years especially if they think you are a person of colour. Even I knew that as a white child in Texas. There are still places around here that you do not stay at after sunset if you are of colour. My husband is from India and I am forever having to fuss with him when we are out traveling.

[MsFDWalker]

33. response

Please read the response from MrsFDWalker - I think you will
see this Blog has left many facts out.  

OMG - Ok, this is so not real.   This article was picked up
froom the original article done in The Daily Sentinel,
Nacogdoches, Texas.   What is left out.   

Guillory contacted 40 of the motorists directly - and
discovered all but one of them were black.  Not true several
were White, his client who filed the suit is white, several
were Hispanic and several were black - less than 10 - one
arrested had $686,000 cash on her.  The grandmother mentioned
in this article vehicle smelt of marijuana.    You do not
mention the following they sign a statement showing that if
they can show evidence of the withdrawal of the funds and
other information within 30 days, they can get the funds back.
  The man who filed the lawsuit in Nacogdoches, Texas is a
relative of someone in the Sheriff's office and they hvae been
upset with one of their cities within the county that have
been trying to do something about the drug problems.  Also,
Highway 59 is a known highway for people transporting drugs by
all law enforcement officials in Texas.    
Also, your article above has inflamed a community and this has
been on nation wide media - why did you not mention that The
Tenaha Police Department is a two man department the chief is
black the only other office is black.  The chief has a
reputation in most of East Texas as being one of the most
honest law enforcement officers around.  Please check the
facts and I would love to see your response. 

[MsFDWalker]

32. Highway Robbery Tenaha, Texas

OMG - Ok, this is so not real.   This article was picked up
from the original article done in The Daily Sentinel,
Nacogdoches, Texas.   What is left out.   

Guillory contacted 40 of the motorists directly - and
discovered all but one of them were black.  Not true several
were White, his client who filed the suit is white, several
were Hispanic and several were black - less than 10 - one
arrested had $686,000 cash on her.  The grandmother mentioned
in this article vehicle smelt of marijuana.    You do not
mention the following they sign a statement showing that if
they can show evidence of the withdrawal of the funds and
other information within 30 days, they can get the funds back.
  The man who filed the lawsuit in Nacogdoches, Texas is a
relative of someone in the Sheriff's office and they have been
upset with one of their cities within the county that have
been trying to do something about the drug problems.  Also,
Highway 59 is a known highway for people transporting drugs by
all law enforcement officials in Texas.    
Also, your article above has inflamed a community and this has
been on nation wide media - why did you not mention that The
Tenaha Police Department is a two man department the chief is
black the only other office is black.  The chief has a
reputation in most of East Texas as being one of the most
honest law enforcement officers around.  Please check the
facts and I would love to see your response. 

[AnneD]

35. The double standard of law exist.......

even in the large city that we live in. To say it doesn't is to deny the truth. I wouldn't recommend hanging around Vidor Texas for one. There are other place heading to NOLA that are just as bad.
Marrying hubby has really opened my eyes as to how it really is in some places.
Edited to add 45 and 10 are just as deadly for drugs.