U.S. Attorney Stephen L. Hill Jr. said Tuesday that the Kansas City police
board's new policy on drug seizures would make it more difficult to take
money used in criminal enterprises. The policy, which forces police to
follow state law when seizing money, could allow criminals more often to
keep the proceeds of their drug operations.

"I do think there are practical problems," Hill said.

But he told the board the policy would not stop federal agencies from
working with police in drug cases.

"I can say unequivocally that is not the case," Hill said.

Hill was invited to speak to the Board of Police Commissioners, which
passed a resolution last month requiring the Police Department to follow
state law rather than federal law when handling seized property.

The new policy follows stories The Kansas City Star published in May
showing that police agencies in every one of more than two dozen states
checked by the newspaper circumvented their own state laws, keeping
millions of dollars in seizures.

When police seize money or property, they often hand it over to a federal
law enforcement agency, which usually keeps 20 percent and returns the rest
to police.

Critics of that hand-off say allowing police agencies to keep the proceeds
of crime-fighting could lead to aggressive and illegal searches.

To prevent that conflict of interest, Missouri and many other states
prohibit police from directly benefiting from property they seize. Instead,
seizures must go through a state court, and a judge then issues a court
order disposing of the money.

The Missouri Constitution requires forfeited money to go to a public school
fund, but a judge does have the authority to issue a "turnover order" to
transfer it to a federal agency.

Some police say they had not done anything illegal by handing off property
to federal agencies, because they had not actually seized it -- they were
only holding it until a federal agent could seize it.

The police board resolution mirrors a bill sponsored by Sen. Harry Wiggins,
a Kansas City Democrat, that defines a seizure as "the point at which any
law enforcement officer or agent discovers and exercises any control over
property."

The resolution also says, as does state law, that officers deputized by the
federal government must still send seizures first to a state court.

Board Vice President Joe Mulvihill, who sponsored the resolution, thanked
Hill for his warning but said the negative public perception of police was
not worth continuing the practice of handing over property to a federal
agency without a court order.

"If problems come up, we could always amend or modify our policy,"
Mulvihill said.

Hill suggested the board wait on the policy until the Missouri Court of
Appeals' Western District ruled on a Clay County court decision.

In that case, Kansas City police got a tip that Vincent Karpierz was
dealing drugs out of his home. After surveillance of his home over a
three-week period, Kansas City police officers obtained a state search
warrant. Police searched Karpierz's home and found $33,000.

Police called the Drug Enforcement Administration, which sent two deputized
Kansas police officers to pick up the money. The DEA later split the money
between the law enforcement agencies.

Karpierz was convicted in Clay County court but then filed a lawsuit
requesting his money back because Kansas City police had not followed state
law.

Judge David Russell ruled in March that Karpierz could not have the money
back, because the case became federal when Kansas City police gave the
money to the deputized officers.

Russell did not address Missouri law requiring a turnover order, nor did he
address several federal appellate court decisions that say police cannot
turn over money to a federal agency until a state judge relinquishes
jurisdiction.

Rather than delay the policy, the board passed a motion made by Mayor Kay
Barnes that police attorneys begin "substantive discussions" with attorneys
representing Hill's office as well as federal law enforcement agencies in
this region.

Once the Clay County case is decided, the attorneys can present
recommendations if needed to adjust the seizure policy, Barnes said.

To reach Karen Dillon, projects reporter, call (816) 234-4430 or send
e-mail to: kdillon@kcstar.com