State lawmakers work on bills to limit property seizures by police
George Hunter / The Detroit News

Detroit -- Efforts are under way to change Michigan's civil forfeiture laws that allow police to seize property without proving a crime occurred.

State law allows police to take property, usually vehicles, for any reason, even in the absence of criminal activity. A Detroit News investigation in November found that vehicles sometimes are seized even when police admit no crime took place.

Two Michigan lawmakers are working on separate bills that would restrict police power over civil seizures. Meanwhile, a candidate for Wayne County sheriff, who was in charge of a department that seized thousands of vehicles over the past four years, says, if elected, he would overhaul the seizure process in Wayne County.

"Under the current ordinance, there doesn't have to be a crime proven in order to seize someone's vehicle," said Walter Epps, a former Wayne County sheriff's lieutenant who ran the department's Morality Squad for more than four years. "But I feel if we're going to take someone's car, the least we should do is to charge them with the crime or issue them a ticket."

In one case, The News found that officers from the Morality Squad seized a Southgate man's vehicle after he talked to a decoy prostitute -- even though the undercover officer admitted in her written report that the man hadn't solicited her during their brief conversation.

In another case, a Red Cross employee's vehicle was seized by the Morality Squad after she picked up a co-worker at a Detroit bank.
Because the vehicle owner's co-worker had stood on a street corner making eye contact with passing motorists while waiting for her ride, police determined she was acting like a prostitute, even though she never was charged for soliciting.

Motorists must pay $900, plus towing and storage fees, to get their vehicles back; otherwise, they become property of the seizing agency and usually are sold at auction.

Two state lawmakers also are trying to pass laws to prevent police in Michigan from seizing people's property without officially accusing them of a crime.

State Rep. Gabe Leland, D-Detroit, introduced a package of bills in December that would require police to seek charges before seizing property.

"The intent of the legislation is simply to protect innocent people," Leland said. "The legislation states that when a person's vehicle is seized and they are either not charged with a crime or are determined to be not guilty, then they will not be responsible for any related towing or storage fees incurred during the investigation."

Leland's bills also would require authorities to return seized vehicles within seven days at no cost if no charges are filed.

State Sen. Tupac Hunter, D-Detroit, said he plans to introduce similar legislation later this month.

"Property seized during an investigation should be rightfully returned to the property owner if the owner has been found innocent, or is not found liable for a civil infraction," Hunter said. "Something must be done to reform the property forfeiture laws in order to protect citizens' rights. Michigan property owners should not have to fight for seized property that should be rightfully returned to them when innocence has been declared."