Police Taking Cash from People, just because….
MONTEREY, Tenn. -- "If somebody told me this happened to them, I absolutely would not believe this could happen in America."
That was the reaction of a New Jersey man who found out just how risky it can be to carry cash through Tennessee. For more than a year, NewsChannel 5 Investigates has been shining a light on a practice that some call "policing for profit." In this latest case, a Monterey police officer took $22,000 off the driver -- even though he had committed no crime. "You live in the United States, you think you have rights -- and apparently you don't," said George Reby. As a professional insurance adjuster, Reby spends a lot of time traveling from state to state. But it was on a trip to a conference in Nashville last January that he got a real education in Tennessee justice. "I never had any clue that they thought they could take my money legally," Reby added. "I didn't do anything wrong."
Reby was driving down Interstate 40, heading west through Putnam County, when he was stopped for speeding. A Monterey police officer wanted to know if he was carrying any large amounts of cash. "I said, 'Around $20,000,'" he recalled. "Then, at the point, he said, 'Do you mind if I search your vehicle?' I said, 'No, I don't mind.' I certainly didn't feel I was doing anything wrong. It was my money." That's when Officer Larry Bates confiscated the cash based on his suspicion that it was drug money. "Why didn't you arrest him?" we asked Bates. "Because he hadn't committed a criminal law," the officer answered.