Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting (https://kycir.org/tag/asset-forfeiture/)
Two years after seizing $380,000 from a St. Matthews man and using indictments his family as leverage to keep it, prosecutors dismissed charges – and kept most of the cash.
The sheriff says seized cash is a tremendous asset for the agency and has taken millions in recent years, often without a criminal case.
The day before the deal was offered to Patrick Card, prosecutors also indicted his wife, mother and father on trafficking and complicity charges.
A bill that would penalize law enforcement agencies that fail to report how much cash and property they seize through asset forfeiture is moving through the state legislature.
Amid growing scrutiny of Kentucky law enforcement’s use of asset forfeiture, more than twice as many agencies disclosed last year how much cash and property they seized than they did two years prior.
A bill filed this week in the General Assembly would require law enforcement agencies to disclose more details about cash and property seized through asset forfeiture or be subjected to financial penalties. Rep. Reginald Meeks, a Louisville Democrat, is sponsoring the measure, which would beef up existing reporting requirements. Agencies that don’t comply would lose $4,000 reimbursements from a state fund for individual officers who complete continued training. Law enforcement agencies are already required to file annual reports detailing how much cash and property they seize, but not all do. State data analyzed by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting found just 11 percent of law enforcement agencies submitted required reports each year between fiscal years 2013-2017.
Money seized through asset forfeiture provides leverage in resolving drug trafficking cases and has become an ingrained aspect of the justice system in Louisville, our investigation found.
Kentucky law says seized money must be used for direct law enforcement purposes. A KyCIR review of $3.7 million in spending records shows agencies take varied interpretations of that law.
The proposal would bolster existing reporting requirements related to the seizing of cash and property by law enforcement, and agencies that don’t comply would lose out on money.
In Kentucky, 11 percent of police agencies report how much suspected drug money they seize every year. How much nearly 300 other agencies take is unclear.