"More than four months have passed since intruders came into Ana Ortiz's apartment and robbed her of over $2,600 in cash she needed to pay rent.
Her life has been upended as a result:
She faces eviction from her South Bronx home of 25 years, and she fears that her frequent trips to housing court might cost her her job as a hospital secretary, which could put her and her three children on the street.
"People knock on my door, and I'm still scared,"
...The people who took her money weren't criminals, but officers with the New York City Police Department.
According to the Bronx Defenders, a legal aid group assisting Ortiz with her case, the cops entered the apartment to arrest one of Ortiz's son's friends for violating his parole and instead arrested her son after he demanded to see a warrant (he eventually pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct).
Their reason for taking the cash was—well, they've never actually said why they took the cash, and the NYPD did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
But under New York City's opaque and arbitrary civil forfeiture system, seizing money from a woman not accused of a crime is a perfectly legal thing to do..."
Read on!
No comments:
Post a Comment