Alabama town uses speed traps, civil forfeiture to fund police force; karma ensues

I am perhaps a little too amused by the ending to this otherwise outrageous story:

The mayor of Castleberry, Alabama, told residents at a recent town hall meeting their three-officer police department may have to shut down because of a steep drop in traffic ticket revenue.

Mayor Henry Kirksey blamed the drop in revenue on the bad publicity from coverage of a seven-plaintiff lawsuit alleging officers in the town of 550 people set up speed traps and made other spurious stops, charging $500 to recover impounded automobiles if drugs were present and using the state's asset forfeiture law to confiscate cash and belongings when available, as an October article in Al.com reported.

J.B. Jackson, the mayor whose idea of stops and confiscation paid for the department, a municipal court judge and a prosecutor, was ousted in an election last year. His former police chief, Tracy Hawsey, resigned in February after the suit was filed.

[…]

One plaintiff said Castleberry police in military-style camo pulled him over as he was pulling out of a driveway last October, impounding his car and seizing $1,750. According to the lawsuit and court documents reviewed by Al.com, he wasn't so much as charged with a traffic offense.

Another plaintiff alleges police confiscated $3,800 from her vehicle, claiming they were "proceeds from an illegal drug dealing or activity," in June 2016, but did not file a civil forfeiture request. Her car remains impounded.

[…]

When word of the lawsuit got around, people began avoiding Castleberry, which brought on a fiscal crisis. The town found itself with $60,000 in unpaid bills and a "six figure debt," Kirksey said.

Maybe – and this is just a thought – you shouldn’t have predicated your town’s police force on its ability to brazenly rob highway travelers. Especially if the people involved are also dumb enough to brag about it on Facebook.

That the town leadership engaged in this sort of skullduggery is infuriating, and that it backfired on them is satisfying. But here’s the part that got me laughing, following a city council vote to keep the police department going on a “limited basis” due to lack of funds:

Kirksey didn't hide his opinion of the council's decision. "We cannot go on like this," he said, "and if y'all want to bankrupt the city by continuing to have a police department that's fine by me."

Now that’s some fine pouting. Someone else might at least have faked some contriteness at being bitten in the ass by karma after years spent screwing innocent people out of their money and possessions, but I guess that’s not the Mayor Henry Kirksey way.

(via @radleybalko)