A guy tries to cash a check at his own bank. Bank incorrectly suspects forgery and calls the police. Guy spends five days in jail, loses his job, has his car (still parked at the bank while he's in jail) impounded and auctioned off, and doesn't get his money till months later. And, it was the bank's OWN CHECK!
They have since apologized but it seems to me that they owe this guy way, way, way, way more than that. And is a bank teller's mere suspicion really enough to send you to jail? I'm seriously considering keeping my money, if I ever get any, in my mattress from now on.
(via The Agitator.)
ADDED: this comment was left over at Balko's place and I second the emotion:
One of the biggest things I’m continually learning from this blog is the large amount of punishment that is exacted on anyone who is even momentarily suspected of some crime. This is an extreme case, but even someone who just gets arrested, has to go to jail, deal with intake, put in a cell, deal with bail bondsmen (who have a pretty good racket of their own set up with the punishment system), deal with getting their stuff back if they ever can, is put through a pretty tough ringer.
Of course, there are far more extreme cases. He wasn't killed, or beaten, his dogs weren't shot, and his daughter wasn't set on fire with an incendiary device. But it's still a horrible thing that shouldn't happen in America. Unfortunately, this stuff is just routine, and no one really notices or cares. But as the commenter implies, it seems like this guy has a case against the police and the city as well as the bank. It would be cool if he sues them both into bankruptcy, but of course it will most likely be only a modest settlement and have no discernible effect on the status quo. Stupid status quo.
Posted by Dr. Frank at July 9, 2011 10:14 PM
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It's the creeping Balkanization of America. As a culture we've grown more insecure and more likely to hunker down into groups based on who we know, and to see those outside our groups as enemies first. It's our way of dealing with what looks to be increased stress compared to our predecessors, although our predecessors were saying the same thing about how much better things were in the old days.
Posted by: Don at July 10, 2011 09:59 AM