POLICE GO TOO FAR IN SEIZING $87,000

In the June 8 issue of The Birmingham News, there is a news item stating
that the Hoover police confiscated $87,000 from two women who were stopped
on Interstate 459 for driving too slowly.

According to the article, the cash was seized because the women could not
explain why they had so much money. They will be given a chance to prove
the money is theirs, and if they can't, the federal government keeps 20
percent and Hoover keeps 80 percent.

Have our lawmakers gone too far in allowing police to seize money and
property with no proof of criminal activity? At one time, I thought that a
citizen was considered innocent until proved guilty, but in situations such
as reported above, it seems that citizens are considered guilty until they
can prove themselves innocent.

If they were breaking a traffic law, they should be fined, just as anyone
else would be, but it seems unfair to seize their money unless there was
some other reason which was not reported in the news item.

Paul A. Nichols

Centreville