THE TOWN of Salisbury, like other jurisdictions in Maryland, has discovered that seizing cars from people who possess small amounts of drugs is a law enforcement tool that often backfires on police. Wherever vehicle seizures have been pursued aggressively under this law, questionable police behavior seems to follow.
Salisbury Police Chief Coulbourn Dykes was suspended recently over possible irregularities in his selling of seized vehicles on behalf of the Wicomico County Narcotics Task Force. Cars worth thousands of dollars were sold for several hundred dollars. A $15,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycle was sold for $3,500, though a potential buyer offered $10,000. Moreover, prices paid for at least three dozen cars, including a 1988 Mercedes, were never recorded.
In Carroll County, a narcotics task force several years ago engaged in the questionable practice of seizing cars and then allowing defendants to buy them back on the spot. None of the officers was alleged to have pocketed the money, but the potential for abuse was great. The task force also specifically targeted vehicles with the highest resale potential, such as the sports utility vehicle driven by a youth who was caught with a pipe containing trace amounts of marijuana.
