Teneha, Texas “shakedown” story makes CNN
Two Months ago we brought you the Chicago Tribune story of police seizing cash and valuables from detained motorists in Teneha, Texas. At that time we learned of a lawsuit asserting Tenaha officials “have developed an illegal ’stop and seize’ practice of targeting, stopping, detaining, searching and often seizing property from apparently non-white citizens and those traveling with non-white citizens.”
See Texas Police Shake Down Drivers lawsuit claims
Anderson Cooper has looked further into the matter and Gary Tuchman filed the above report where the county has reportedly seized $3,000,000 in what appear to be “shakedown” operations. These “shakedowns” target black and brown drivers that pass through the small town near the Texas/Louisiana border. Drivers are threatened with jail time and even having their children taken away by the town’s police officers during traffic stops.
Tuchman’s report is informative, but also entertaining as the only words he could get from Shelby County District Attorney Lynda Russell were of her singing at a fundraiser. And as reported earlier, one of the main officers targeting black drivers is also black. The CNN report claims he received a $10,000 check for a job well done.
