Pubdate: Sun, 20 Jan 2008
Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL)
Copyright: 2008 St. Petersburg Times
Contact: http://www.sptimes.com/letters/
Website: http://www.sptimes.com/home.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/419
Author: John Frank, Times Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)

POLICE FORFEITURE OF CASH BLASTED AS VIOLATION OF LAW

A Public Defender Challenges the Seizure of a Man's $586 After His 
Case Is Dropped.

BROOKSVILLE - It was early and the parking lot empty when Anthony 
Daniel parked his red Chevy Suburban the morning of April 21.

He probably was up to no good. Tucked under the driver's seat in 
small plastic bags were 11 grams of marijuana and 12 oxycodone pills.

When Daniel, 26, saw a Brooksville police officer, he quickly drove 
away. But at the point Officer Shawn Terry stopped him on Dr. M.L. 
King Jr. Boulevard, he had done nothing wrong.

Daniel handed Terry his license but then sped away and fled on foot. 
Authorities confiscated his truck, the drugs and $586 in cash found 
in the door compartment.

Nothing after the stop matters in the eyes of the law.  In November, 
the State Attorney's Office dropped the four charges, including three 
felonies, after realizing the officer had no legal justification to 
stop Daniel.

But the case isn't over.

Earlier this month, Daniel returned to court to face the top brass 
from the Brooksville Police Department in an effort to recover some 
of his confiscated property.  The chief refuses to return $586 in 
cash his agency took from Daniel, citing an obscure agency procedure.

Daniel's situation isn't unique, but it sheds light on a policy some 
attorneys think violates state law.

"There is no legal authority for them doing what they did," said 
Assistant Public Defender Ray Shaw, who represents Daniel.

Police Chief George Turner, who inherited the case from the previous 
administration when he took the helm in September, said the 
department properly seized Daniel's property. But he acknowledged in 
an interview that the forfeiture policy has been changed recently.

The dispute stems from the stop that April morning. To pull over 
Daniel and question him, the officer needed reasonable suspicion to 
believe he was about to commit a crime or already had.

Daniel's attorney filed a motion to throw out the entire case and 
suppress the evidence. He won. Circuit Judge Jack Springstead signed 
an order Nov. 5 telling the Police Department to return all of 
Daniel's property. But when Daniel went to the department, they gave 
him an undated document, with his signature at the bottom, that 
detailed the terms of a settlement.

The one-paragraph compromise, negotiated by Brooksville Detective 
Randal Orman a month after the arrest, returned Daniel's 1993 Chevy 
and charged him $284 for impound fees on the condition that he 
forfeit the $586 in cash to the department, according to a copy 
obtained by the St. Petersburg Times.

Daniel's attorney doesn't challenge the document's authenticity - 
just its legality.

Springstead refused to rule on the issue during a Jan.  3 hearing. He 
told Daniel to challenge the settlement in civil court.

"There is a specific guideline they have to follow," Shaw said. "They 
must go to court. They can't just get him to sign a piece of paper."

The settlement procedure in question is a relic of former Chief Ed 
Tincher's administration that continued after his suspension in 
February and through the interim term of Chief Frank Ross.

It's unclear how many times Brooksville officers used it to avoid the 
normal procedure, which involves filing a forfeiture claim in civil court.

Other defense attorneys in Hernando County have quietly challenged it 
before, though none so ardently as public defender Shaw. He 
subpoenaed Turner, Lt. Rick Hankins and other Brooksville officers to 
appear in court on the matter this month. Now he's taking the case to 
the 5th District Court of Appeal.

The standard protocol for forfeiture cases, as defined by state law, 
involves a civil lawsuit and the ability for the defendant to 
challenge the seizure. That is how the Hernando County Sheriff's 
Office handles most of its cases, especially if it involves taking 
cash. And if the charges are dismissed, rarely will a judge allow an 
agency to keep the property.

Brooksville police have filed forfeiture lawsuits sporadically, 
county court records indicate, but other times they handle the matter 
internally with a settlement agreement, as they did with Daniel.

These are permitted under state law, but must follow specific 
guidelines and deadlines. In Daniel's case, and possibly untold 
others, the department appeared to ignore those rules.

State law says these agreements must be reviewed by the court, unless 
such a right is waived by the claimant.  Also, if claimants aren't 
represented by an attorney, they must sign a provision saying they 
freely and voluntarily entered the agreement.

The letter Daniel signed had neither provision.

Calls to the Police Department's attorney, George Angelides with the 
Hogan Law Firm, went unreturned. But the chief defended the 
settlement agreement and the officer's stop of Daniel.

"It's a civil agreement that's standard operating procedure for many 
departments in Florida and across the country," Turner said. "It's a 
mutually agreed upon, signed letter."

Later he added, "I thought that was a very reasonable stop. That 
officer is in no trouble with me or our department."

Still, Turner said soon after he took office he changed the policy.

The new language puts the decision to seize property solely in the 
hands of supervisors and requires the immediate notification of the 
city's attorneys.

It also takes away the officer's power to draft and sign settlement 
agreements. The attorneys now must prepare a legal document that 
needs the signature of the chief for approval.

"Now we do it all through our attorneys," Turner said.  "The policies 
prior to me getting here were old, and I'm not sure how it was done 
or if it was always done the same."

Turner said the department still has Daniel's cash in evidence. And 
he intends to fight to keep it.

[sidebar]

MISSING EVIDENCE?

What Happened?

The Brooksville Police Department seized $586 in cash from Anthony 
Daniel after an illegal stop April 21. It refuses to return the money 
because the parties signed a settlement agreement that Daniel's 
attorney believes is illegal.

So where's the money now? The St. Petersburg Times put that question 
to Brooksville Chief George Turner. He claimed the money was in the 
department's trust fund account with all the other money from 
property seizures. But a records request and call to the city's 
finance department revealed the money never made it into the 
department's coffer. Confronted by the evidence, Turner retracted his 
statement and said he was told the cash is in the department's evidence room.

The evidence room is the topic of much scrutiny amid an ongoing 
investigation by the FDLE. Turner said Daniel's case is not related 
to the investigation. 
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