Plainfields new DARE car

[Bonkers]

Hey guys, its been a long while since I posted over here, but I wanted to get the word out about this. Its Mopar related. While I doubt many of us will ever be in the particualr situation the fact remains that this is one step from allowing our government to get away with anything.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/432138,4_1_JO18_DARE_S1.article

The facts that we're sure of:
- The driver was doing 127 in a 35
- No one was hurt and nothing was damaged
- There were no drugs in the car and the driver had no prior drug offenses
- The driver had a suspended license
- The "densely populated residential road" the offense took place on has no houses or driveways, but does have a school at the very end. (Google maps has a clear picture of road.)
- The arresting cop told the driver they had confiscated his car just after fingerprinting - BEFORE the driver was convicted of anything
- The car was confiscated under a new law that allows forfeit during commission of a felony
- The felony committed: Evading Arrest
- The proof - the guy stopped in an industrial park 2000 feet (30seconds) from beginning of chase - automatically qualifying as an attempt to "hide."
- The Springfield Police officers can drive the car whenever the mood suits them... for free.
- D.A.R.E. is not a state owned business - the state seized property (despite a little thing called the constitution saying its not allowed to) and donated to an outside business. A private firm doing this would be charged with grand larceny.
- The estimated value of the state gift to D.A.R.E. "1 Car."
- The car being replaced: A 1986 Firebird
- Upon taking possession of the car the arresting cop "Revved the engine several times" before being warned by a fellow officer about the danger - in Illinois that is a criminal misdemeanor - no charged files against cop despite several witnesses.

There's also evidence that the driver was threatened with jail time if he challenged the seizure - without the felony conviction most states, including Illinois, have a word for this kind of practice: Extortion

Obviously my opinion is biased with regard to the scenario - Since the offense was mild by all standards and was based solely off the cops word there is no way it justifies a felony seizure. Heavy fines, yes, a few weeks in jail, maybe, but the forfeit of a $60,000 car? No way.

[purple1]

- The driver had a suspended license

That right there is it. He should NOT have been behind the wheel of ANY car. And in a school zone ( I have kids). Sorry this a$$ got what he deserved.

[bordin34]

Here is my towns dare truck. It was more than likely confiscated from a drug bust.

My Neighboring towns dare car. It was confiscated from a drug bust

[heminut]

That right there is it. He should NOT have been behind the wheel of ANY car. And in a school zone ( I have kids). Sorry this a$$ got what he deserved.

  It sounds like reckless endangerment to me. Quote from the article;

Marzetta chased the joy rider north from 135th to 127th Street, where the Viper swerved left around two cars at the intersection and turned right.
The Viper weaved in and out of an industrial park before the driver hit Weber Road traffic and tried to hide in a nearby parking lot.

Swerving left around 2 vehicles then cutting back right in front of them put the occupants of those 2 vehicles in danger, and that type of manuever tells me he was attempting to elude the officer!

[Bonkers]

Here is my towns dare truck. It was more than likely confiscated from a drug bust.
My Neighboring towns dare car. It was confiscated from a drug bust

My trouble with the whole thing - no drugs here. A guy living a few doors down from me drove his geo onto somebodies front lawn and almost hit the house. He then escaped on foot and accidently broke into another house because he was too realize it wasn't his. Several witnesses, mutliple cops. He also had a revoked license from DUI. He got a few months in jail and a few thousand dollars in fines.

This guy was sober driving a car capabile of almost twice that speed and passed two cars at an intersection. No one was hurt and the best guess is this chase lasted less than a minute - his punishment $60,000+ other fines.

Heres a crime where no one got hurt, nothing got hit, and the police still made several tens of thousands of dollars. The only proof that any of this even happend is the word of a single cop.

[Alaskan_TA]

So......

Case 1. 

A guy is high and is speeding, he hits you and you die.

Case 2.

A guy is speeding and he hits you and you die, but he is not on drugs and has never used them.

Does case 2 make you feel better in any way?

You are still dead either way.

[Bonkers]

Case 3 - Tree dies, falls and hits you on the head. You die no car involved.

What's your point?

I'm not saying what the guy did was okay, hell, I'm not even saying he shouldn't be punished severely, but what happened here was a clear case of cops using the law to supply their coffers - not to protect anyone.

Let me put it another way - you're out driving your convertable cuda with your wife and dog. You stop a light, the dog sees a cat and takes off. A cop sees the dog run off. In Delaware a "dog at large" is felony and by this Illinois law he would have the right to confiscate your cuda because it was involved in a felony crime. You're arrested, the car's given to the SPCA for promotions, and your wife has to walk home with dog.

The crime doesn't fit the punishment. Jersey is already enacting laws that say speed exhibition (burn outs, revving your engine, ect) qualifies for vehicle confiscation. At this rate and speeding and even parking tickets will qualify, but only if you're driving something the cops want to drive.

[Alaskan_TA]

My point was..........
















....... missed, obviously.

[Bonkers]

My point was................. missed, obviously.

Oh no, I got it - you were saying that his speeding conviction was justified because it didn't matter what else we was or wasn't doing. My point is that the cops made up a felony conviction for the point of stealing this guys car for their own use. Had he been driving a miata at 127mph there would have been no felony charge. A few thousand in fines and they may have evn let him drive home.

The cop said it himself - it was a once in a lifetime chance to get a cool car. 

[Moparmatt]

Regardless of what happened, the car would have been confiscated. It was not necesarily the vehicle, but rather the circumstances under which it was driven. If it was a Miata, it would have gone from impound to auction, probably. Since this was a Viper, it was confiscated by the municipality to use in their Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program. That is how most DARE vehicles are acquired... this one is much nicer than most, but still no different.

You keep saying there was only one witness- the cop. The cop, however, has video evidence of what happened, in the form of a dashboard camera.

You also make the accusation that this is an unconstitutional action. Absolutely not. The driver broke the relevant laws, and now has to face the codified penalties. This is not an example of eminent domain, where the government takes property to serve the common good (though this car is now serving the common good) but rather a cut-and-dried case of a driver breaking the law.

[MJS73]

Hey Bonkers, do you live around there?  I live about three miles from that location and I can tell you that Essington Road from 127th to 135th is 100% heavily residential, a lot of young families over there.  I don't know when Google Earth took their shots, because the subdivisions are fairly new there, but it is heavily residential around there.  And Weber Road is a traffic nightmare (a lot of dense subdivisions and commercial enters clustered together).

Regardless, 127 in a 35?  He deserves whatever happens to him.  If he was so worried about what happened to his car (or to other people), he wouldn't have driven it 127mph in a 35mph zone in a residential area.

Mike

[Pistol Gripper]

My take on this:

1.  127 mph in a 35 mph zone. - That's enough for me,  take the car away from this moron.

2.  Chased the joy rider north from 135th to 127th Street, where the Viper swerved left around two cars at the intersection and turned right. - That's enough for me,  take the car away from this moron.

3.  The Viper weaved in and out of an industrial park before the driver hit Weber Road traffic and tried to hide in a nearby parking lot. - That's enough for me,  take the car away from this moron.

As for giving it to D.A.R.E. - Great use of resources, they do a tremendous amount of good for the community.

Another point - I didn't see where the driver had a suspended license, but if true, see my response to #'s 1, 2 & 3 above.

The department has a lot full of seized vehicles, most of which aren't worth much and are sold at auction, he said. - Looks like this isn't at all unusual.

All I can say is  Great job !

P.G.

[ted]

exactly and i hope he does a few years in jail.

That right there is it. He should NOT have been behind the wheel of ANY car. And in a school zone ( I have kids). Sorry this a$$ got what he deserved.

[heminut]

My point is that the cops made up a felony conviction for the point of stealing this guys car for their own use.

Doesn't sound to me as if the cops 'made up' anything! The guy commited a felony by the laws of the state. Also, the cops don't 'convict' anyone, that's what the courts do.

[purple1]

Doesn't sound to me as if the cops 'made up' anything! The guy commited a felony by the laws of the state. Also, the cops don't 'convict' anyone, that's what the courts do.

  It did not sound like that to me either. They may have counted the conviction a little sooned than they should.