NBA playoff games all likely to be cancelled today

[julio]

The police and their defenders insist that these are scattered incidents, that there are just a few bad apples,

Can't say this often or loudly enough: This sounds like Cardinal Bernard Law.

After a certain number of "scattered incidents," the "few bad apples" argument just isn't credible.

Add a retired police officer (teabag259) essentially asserting "we'll keep their money unless they can prove they didn't commit a crime. Standing the core principle of American justice (the presumption of innocence until guilt is proven) squarely on its head - and apparently not even understanding the implication of what he wrote.

Something is seriously rotten here.

[allentown]

We know more now. We have Smartphone videos of atrocities and police dashboard and worn cameras. I suspect that policing is actually a lot less violent and racist today than it's been in the past. The 'we'll keep your money' issue isn't a police issue, they are just the ones who seize the money, it was passed by Congress and is beloved by many DAs. We are seeing the first flower of justice reform and better training of police. Expectations for equitable conduct are, happily, higher today. The public is waking up. We see a level of white outrage against brutalization of blacks by police, which was missing in prior years. The present situation isn't good, but there are grounds for optimism. Today, we likely have the best policing we have had in this country. We need to keep pushing the needle forward. Can't afford to let up and allowing back-sliding, rather than continued improvement.

[teabag259]

Police are not seizing money from random individuals haphazardly. The seizures are done after investigations are completed and there is strong evidence that the money is drug proceeds. Please who are working narcotics know who the guys are in their respective areas who are in the narcotics game. And the smart ones and in particular the ones that are above street level generally do not ever touch the drugs. So the way you get at them his money. Because at the end of the day the drug game is all about money. I worked narcotics for years. The guys above the street lieutenant level rarely, if ever, actually touch the stuff. They arrange it to have their underlings do it. But the money always finds their way back to them. So if over the course of an investigation (be it with informants, wiretaps or other methods) detectives know who they are dealing with and who they are seizing money from. It is not Joe the teacher or Frank the businessman. They are criminals who are flooding the streets with illegal drugs. These are people who are ultimately responsible for street-level violence and overdoses and the average citizen should not shed a single tear for them losing their ill gotten proceeds.

[andyb]

Police are not seizing money from random individuals haphazardly. The seizures are done after investigations are completed and there is strong evidence that the money is drug proceeds.

There is lots of evidence that this is NOT the case:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/03/29/inspector-general-faults-dea-for-seizing-money-without-any-connection-to-a-larger-criminal-investigation/

[schillingfan]

Police are not seizing money from random individuals haphazardly. The seizures are done after investigations are completed and there is strong evidence that the money is drug proceeds.

There is lots of evidence that this is NOT the case:

Inspector general faults DEA for seizing money without any connection to a...

In my experience, 30 years working criminal defense, it is both. In fact, money often determines who asserts jurisdiction. There are times, when the money comes from profiled vehicle stops. The big money comes from big drug round-ups where there has been an investigation with CI drug buys and they get a warrant. Smaller monies come from the vehicle and individual arrests whee they just take everything and it is hard to get it back.