Detroit Police Department
The DPD's latest drug and cash haul.
Normally we wouldn't cover an 8-pound bud haul, but who can resist a story where the cops display confiscated drugs and cash to show what a great job they're doing?
According to a press release sent by the Detroit Police Department, officers were led to this particular assortment by the bad driving manners of the guy allegedly attached to the contraband. They say they pulled suspect Ronald Bean over this weekend when he drove through a CVS Pharmacy parking lot to avoid the light at Grand River and Schaefer, on Detroit's west side.
Once stopped, officers smelled the "strong odor of marijuana" coming from Bean's SUV. A deeper look, they say, revealed more than $44,000 in cash, about 9 pounds of weed, and more than 4 pounds of crystal meth.
Officers were, of course, able to take all of the cash before Bean was even charged with a crime, because this is America.
A bill in Lansing has been introduced to change that practice here in Michigan. The proposal by Macomb County Republican Rep. Peter Lucido would prevent police from taking any money or property without first obtaining a conviction. Officers would still be able to still seize cash found with drugs for evidentiary purposes, but they wouldn’t be able to keep — or forfeit — it until a suspect is found guilty.
