1/ Texas police made more than $50 million in 2017 from seizing people’s property. Not everyone was guilty of a crime. #txlege bit.ly/2BY6ObF 
2/ It’s called civil asset forfeiture.
Police can take cash and property they believe to be related to criminal activity, even if the person involved is never charged with a crime. #txlege bit.ly/2BY6ObF
Police can take cash and property they believe to be related to criminal activity, even if the person involved is never charged with a crime. #txlege bit.ly/2BY6ObF
3/ Prosecutors then sue the property — yes the property — and if they win, police can keep much of it for their own purposes. bit.ly/2BY6ObF
5/ But civil asset forfeiture is panned by both liberals and conservatives who see it as a violation of Americans’ civil liberties. bit.ly/2BY6ObF
6/ Sometimes, examples of abuse get national attention. A 2011 law banned officials from using it to pay for things like margarita machines, as the former Montgomery County DA did in 2005. bit.ly/2BY6ObF
7/ In one Texas county with fewer than 20,000 residents, the value of seized assets in 2012 was 15 times more than the local prosecutor’s annual budget. bit.ly/2BY6ObF
8/ Some #txlege lawmakers have the practice in their sights. But efforts to change it often don’t make it very far. bit.ly/2BY6ObF
9/ And some powerful people support civil asset forfeiture — including President Trump. He once said he could “destroy” the career of an unspecified state senator who wanted to end it. bit.ly/2BY6ObF
10/ Read our full story here. bit.ly/2BY6ObF
