COPS PLANNING LATEST CASH GRAB IN SPARTANBURG …
Last fall Upstate television station WSPA TV 7 (CBS – Greenville-Spartanburg) ran an interesting story on “Operation Rolling Thunder,” a so-called countywide “traffic enforcement blitz” that’s really nothing but a shameless shakedown of motorists.
According to WSPA’s report, Spartanburg sheriff’s deputies “seized nearly $100,000 during the operation … and will collect thousands more from fines levied against the nearly 1,300 traffic cases.”
All in four days of “work …”
The $100,000 was obtained via “civil asset forfeiture,” in which cops simply take your cash and force you to go to court to retrieve it – knowing full well the lengthy, costly effort to get the money back isn’t worth the effort. Oh, and they don’t even have to route that money back to county government – it goes straight into their bank accounts.
That’s theft, people …
Spartanburg Sheriff Chuck Wright was asked by WSPA whether his “operation” was really a crackdown on crime or an effort to generate revenue. After a long pause he finally said “you know that’s a part of it, but it isn’t the main reason we do it.”
Really?
“Rolling Thunder” isn’t just bad for taxpayers’ wallets and pocketbooks, it’s potentially fatal. Two years ago the operation prompted a high speed police chase – one that ended with the death of a seven-year-old girl.
All over a half-pound of marijuana …
Wright’s response?
“I don’t want drugs in Spartanburg County,” he said, adding that “There is no one to blame for this other than the woman who made the choice not to stop.”
We’re sure that’s what he believes … but he’s wrong.
“Rolling Thunder” is nothing but rolling fascism, people. It’s not law enforcement, it’s lawless government run amok – endangering our lives, liberty and prosperity. Wright loves to talk tough about cracking down on the “bad guys” in Spartanburg County.
Frankly, he needs to look in the mirror …
36 comments
Disappointing situation, there. The once-great state of Tennessee has been pulling this crap for some time now. There are YouTube videos about it, where they work the lane directions which are carrying cash more than the ones carrying drugs, ripping off people who legitimately may not have a damn thing to do with drug trafficking, but who are carrying large amounts of cash. I always loved TN, but that and other things such as heavy DHS presence on roads and rumored UN presence makes me not want to visit it as I once wanted.
I have admired Sheriff Wright’s Pro-2A/Pro CWP/Pro Self-defense stance for a while. I have always felt that someone who runs from the cops and causes death or serious injury (their own or someone else’s) bears the responsibility for bad things that happen. Even so, I can see some merit in Fits’ position on this. Our country’s “War On Drugs” as been a bigger failure than “Prohibition” was in the fist half of the 20th Century, with all of the negatives regarding making organized crime more lucrative and stronger. It has made a lot of crooked politicians, cops, judges, and lawyers, wealthy, while doing nothing to stop the flow of illicit drugs.
CIC, our war on drugs has been a miserable failure. Most drugs need to be legalized, and the penalties for driving while impaired (drugs or alcohol) should be enforced. I have no problem with the police enforcing our current drug and traffic laws, and if you are caught with a pound of dope and several thousand dollars, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out from where that money came. I have no problem with its confiscation. We just need to work to change the laws.
There appears to be a certain hatred of the police on this site. I have encountered the occasional cop with an attitude, but the vast majority are just trying to do their job, which includes getting shot at, working crappy hours and dealing with assholes on a daily basis.
How is Columbia, by the way? Getting more crooked by the day?
Hi Southmauldin! I agree on legalization. As with Prohibition and alcohol, the current system only serves to drive up the price of drugs, and therefore the money to be made in taking the risks to deal them. I have long advocated pulling flatbed trailers of crack, meth, heroine, and other highly dangerous and addictive drugs into areas where they see a lot of use and letting the addicts take what they want. When a trailer is emptied, bring in another and use the empty one to haul off the bodies. I imagine the number of addicts would quickly decline, at least for a while.
If you knew my background, you would know that I am generally very much Pro-LE, but as I have grown older (and maybe a little wiser), I also don’t hesitate to call them out when they do wrong or are doing it the wrong way. Stealing someone’s money with no evidence of drugs, other than suspicion, is not doing your job. It is being a thug or thief no better than those you are trying to police. At that point, IMHO, you cease being a cop and become the asshole.
The War On Drugs, too long a failure, has been used to abridge our rights and freedoms. Of course a newer bogeyman has been crafted and used to that end on an even greater scale, “The War On Terrorism”.
Regarding Columbia, word on the street is that it is improving, between the last interim Chief who is a good and honest man, and the current Chief, who I have heard nothing bad about, so far. They have gotten rid of a lot of the riff-raff that was brought in from Richland County and other areas by Scott and Santiago and the few who remain are getting a taste of the unfriendly work environment they created for so many old-guard CPD officers when they were the ones in power.
The sad thing is that one of those who remains, will be running for LexCo Sheriff In two years and has made noises about bringing his close associate, Ruben Santiago, on board if he is elected. I really hope we have some choices in that Sheriff’s race for a change.
Obviously you have not seen Wellford or Duncan’s “finest” at work
Talk about swagger and attitude and trolling for tickets on I-85 MILES away from their prospective city limits
I respect the law but not some of them sworn to enforce it.
I have personally seen a Wellford cop ignore a motorist in trouble on I-85 so he could concentrate on chasing someone down to cite them for speeding
I called the SCHP about it and they said that was standard for Wellford’s “finest” to do that.
I’ve never been stopped/ticked by either Wellford or Duncan BTW, I know better than to exceed the speed limits where those vultures roost.
” they work the lane directions which are carrying cash more than the ones carrying drugs”
Not too many car dealerships will take a kilo of cocaine as trade for a new crown vic. Can’t blame them for working the $$$ lanes.
Yeah, but that action shoots big holes in their oft-cited claim that they are doing this to protect the public from the dangers of drugs.
Not really. The Drug Cartels are hurt much less from the seizure of the narcotics than the cash. The cash is the final proceeds from the distribution ring running “full circle”. That hurts much more!
Fits uses the 100K figure as an example. During this operation 3 or 4 years ago 3 MILLION was seized from a tractor trailer. Now i’m sure some would argue that people have a right to carry cash. Not many people carry around 3 million in cash in a load of lettuce.
The dope is coming regardless. Nothing can be done to stop it!
Why should LE turn a blind eye to it? Whether we agree or not it is a great source of funding. It saves the taxpayers MILLIONS every year.
Play big-time dope dealer for a minute- would you rather lose your 2lbs of coke or the $15k on the way back to your office?
OK Mike, you and scrappy DO make a good point!
Just playin’ Devil’s advocate, bro…but the money hurts them much, much worse. They can get their hands on more dope with a quick phone call.
FITS, you liberals have been B*!tching about fascism for decades now. It’s like your claims of racism, And the Dumb@$$#$ who keep electing you, get poorer and more ignorant, while you get phatter and more powerful…STFU, and OBEY the law…you broken-record idiot…
Educate yourself: Read: http://scdigest.blogspot.com/
These are actually PERTINENT issues…
Give it up, dude. No one’s reading your little “blog.”
He reminds me of this twit, back when we had free posting on WLTX and before their fall into Fecebook-based posting, who used to put some lame comment about every article and link to some rag in Ohio called, “The Lake County Times”. He would say, “read more here”, and post the link to The Lake County Times. When you went to that site, there was almost never a related or relevant article, though. He was just trying to run up their hit counter.
For a clearer understanding of the GrandTurnip’s thinking, read his last 100 posts in order:
read more: GT-whaa?. @trashbin.CiC
LOL! Glad you’re back on here, man. It was kind of dull around here when you were gone.
Thanks – I am enjoying being back. My typing is better because Nurse Diesel gives my fingers a massage twice a day. Hearing her speak jolts my brain into action by dissolving the cobwebs.
If you can talk her into giving the fleshy finger with no bones in it a massage, you just might have it made. Just hope she isn’t GT in disguise, working his day job.
I’m not fooled on that one. Nurse Diesel actually has some hair on her chest.
Oh crap!
Emily Peterkin? How many identities do you use lame ass?
Look at me, LOOK AT ME! I need attention. I’m just the right wing version of this guy: https://twitter.com/VoteMike2014
‘Rolling Thunder’ the charitable biker group, should immediately sue them for trademark infringement of the name ‘Rolling Thunder,’ which is trademarked with the circled ‘R’ every single time the words are used on the bikers webpage. Cease and Desist at the very least, although it would be nice to think they could sue back some of the money seized by these thugs. Is there no one in the state that oversees law enforcement? They just operate out there however they want, no checks on their creative financing? I realize we have no Department of Justice at the federal level anymore, but really.
Maybe if the biker group wins a lawsuit against the PD, the PD can more accurately name their operations “Rolling Dumber”.
Your knowledge of history sucks.
She obviously doesn’t know the actual origin of the phrase “Rolling Thunder,” no?
How many B-52s did we lose? Or am I misremembering the Christmas bombings?
I’d have to look up details like that, but I believe the overall campaign morphed a bit and lasted a couple of years. I don’t recall exact figures, but there were hundreds of thousands of sorties and many, many aircraft and crews lost (hundreds, I think). We lost some serious hardware and airmen, to be sure.
They need something to do while they’re not shooting dogs or people.
At least he is trying to enforce the laws. Now, only if that pos in the White House would do the same.
Maybe the people should do something besides bitch?
I mean damn, Americans are total pussies nowadays.
Freedoms are being RIPPED away
Taxpayers granted County Sheriff’s arresting powers in the State Constitution presently through their representatives and senators. Tax Payers granted powers to City Councils to appoint Chief’s of Police and grant them arresting powers. Taxpayers must ask themselves, is this what we want with our tax dollars? Abuse of these arresting powers?
Operation’s like “Rolling Thunder” can easily turn into “Operation Fuck You” in our state prison system. It is no secret, Los Angeles/Texas founded Latin American prison gangs crisscross South Carolina. MS 13 has a cell in Charlotte NC. These gangs are transnational criminal organisations. They reach a breaking point and prison personnel are murdered. They reach a breaking point, contracts are put out against local police or prosecutors. These animals will do the same against federal authorities.
Our current White House Administration as did the Carter Administration is creating an atmosphere for Honduran, San Salvadoran, and Mexican nationals to organize and slaughter anyone standing in their way to traffic drugs. The same applies to county/city para military juntas we call Sheriff’s, their Deputies, city police chiefs and their officers.
Shows what happens when the people actually believe that having more cops has anything to do with “crime.”
Most cities and counties devote a goodly part of their budget to “public safety.” Talk about cutting it will draw howls of protest that one is “soft on crime.”
In reality,most Sheriffs offices and Police departments could take sizeable cuts and ,except for those laid off,no one would notice.
I mean everybody knows how criminal types sit around saying,”damn I better not commit a crime here in (blank) county,they got a lotta cops!”
Like in Greenwood they will pull you over and fine you 25.00 for seat belt and people will be passing you running 90 mph with no mufflers and windows that you can’t see in. I have never seen as many cars and trucks running around without mufflers,back in my days they would pull you over for 6 mph over and if you had glasspacks they would tell you to take them off or fine you, now they run straight pipes in the middle of town beside city hall with no problems. Have they changed the laws or just enforce what they want to?
“Chucky” Wright has never met a TV camera he didn’t like
Everybody in Spartanburg County knows when this shit starts. Just look for out-of- county cop cars on the side of the road and median and every helicopter/”toy” the counties can put in the sky from Spartanburg County’s “little bird” (a Viet-Nam era Hughes OH-6 model) to some county’s UH-1 “Huey” going up and down I-85.
My office is off I-85 and when I see those copters going up & down I-85 I know to pay extra care in how I drive on I-85 (if I venture out at all during “Rolling Thunder”).
It’s usually about this time of the year – August I think it is
All they are catching is amateurs and unfortunate out-of-staters. After the first day word gets out via cell phone and the pros take another route.
Like they say, “follow the money”
Another thing…
It sure is funny, it’s always I-85 and NOT I-26 here in Spartanburg County.
“Chucky” knows better than to piss off the beach traffic using I-26
Let him do that on I-26 during the height of “beach season’ (like now) and see how that goes…During this time of the year, it looks like every 3rd car is from out of state(Tennessee,Kentucky,Ohio,etc.) on I-26 here in Spartanburg County.
He would be getting a call from “Queen Namrata’ in about 30 minutes to “cease and desist”!!!!!
You betcha!!!!!!
As an out-of-the-closet, openly fascist person, I see nothing wrong with civil forfeiture. The people affected should just be grateful that they live in such a great country and should be willing to make the sacrifices of all their money and their own lives to help government be more financially successful and efficient.