Huge Waste of Time and Expense to Recover $8,500 Stolen by Police

CNN reports that it only took 18 months and a lawsuit to get Tenaha, TX police to return $8,500 they stole from Roderick Daniels of Tennessee in October, 2007.

"I just feel blessed," Daniels said. "I am happy everything is going good right now. ... I just want to celebrate."

I'm happy that Mr. Daniels got his money, but just how blessed can he be to be deprived of his money for 18 months, and to have to give up his time and expense to pursue a lawsuit 800 miles from his home? If the civilians did this, they would be charged with armed robbery, extortion, and if Daniels refused, with kidnapping.

It gets worse. In a previous article, CNN reports:

Jennifer Boatright and Ron Henderson said they agreed to forfeit their property after Russell threatened to have their children taken away.

Not only did the thugs with badges steal these people's money, they actually threatened to kidnap their children. Again, if a civilian did the same thing, he'd likely be facing life in prison. The fact that they are not held accountable, like we are, makes civilians de facto second-class subjects. Instead of being expected to follow the same laws we do, these thugs and their masters try to justify their looting as a tool to fight drugs. Even worse, the mayor doesn't even make that excuse. According to pistolero:

Kevin's post yesterday reminded me of this story that I saw a few weeks back in the Houston Chronicle...

...
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.

Now, you'll note that neither Mr. Bowers nor any of his colleagues had any comment on whether innocent people were in effect having their possessions stolen from them; in fact, he seems to be saying that the ends justify the means. Any kind of income, eh, even stolen goods and cash, apparently. I wonder what the Founding Fathers would say, or what they would do. Something tells me it would involve tar and feathers, or perhaps even a rope and the tallest tree in the county...