Cop Swipes Xbox 360 During Traffic Stop

[Nathan Meunier]

Cop Swipes Xbox 360 During Traffic Stop

Bad cop: no donut for you!

Xbox 360s aren't exactly cheap, but that doesn't excuse a Florida police officer's five-finger discount [http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/11/21/nguyen.xbox.taken.by.cops.wftv?iref=videosearch] on the gaming console from a man stopped for speeding Friday. Later on, when the guy dropped by the station with his receipt and the original packaging in order to reclaim the system, it was nowhere to be found.

Police pulled over Kenyatta Hillman and a friend for speeding and decided to search the car after reportedly smelling marijuana. The search didn't turn up any drugs, but did find an Xbox 360 and eight games. Instead of giving Hillman a speeding ticket, the officer decided to keep the gaming console instead.

"He said, 'when you got your receipt and your box and stuff, call me and we'll meet someplace, you show me the receipt and I'll give you your game.' I didn't understand," said Hillman in an interview on CNN regarding his conversation with officer who confiscated his Xbox 360.

Apparently, the officer ran the serial number on the unit, determined it wasn't stolen merchandise, and took it anyway. Police said there had been a lot of burglaries in the area, and Xbox 360s in particular were prime targets for theft. Hillman feels he was singled out because of his physical appearance and the fact that he's poor.

Pulling a guy over for speeding is one thing, but don't take away the man's Xbox 360.













Permalink

 

[fix-the-spade]

"This is the Police, pull over so we can mug you,"

I'm guessing that some smug officer is currently sat down playing GTA on his free console. Do the US police really have the power to confiscate something that is not illegal and without good reason to believe stolen without a warrant?
The system came back not stolen, surely that's enough.

 

[NeedAUserName]

"This is the Police, pull over so we can mug you,"

I'm guessing that some smug officer is currently sat down playing GTA on his free console. Do the US police really have the power to confiscate something that is not illegal and has no good reason to believe stolen without a warrant?

No, thats the point.

 

[calelogan]

Surely insane and, if I'm not mistaken, violation of a few rights due an unjustified drastic act.

This is just like the bug in Fallout 3 (and Oblivion as well) where NPCs accidentally kill themselves and therefore prevent you from taking part in quests and the like:

"It's funny, just because it's not your game"

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

Wow, that sucks. On one hand the police officer had a right to be suspicious since the system wasn't in it's package (that combined with the recent theft), on the other hand the guy should have questioned the police officer who just a moment ago had smelt marijuana when there clearly wasn't any found.

 

[AceDiamond]

Florida: Where Elections and Xbox 360s are stolen.

 

[hellthins]

I'm smelling a police corruption lawsuit.

 

[Galletea]

It's not like the police are inherently corrupt or anything...oh no wait.

 

[ace_of_something]

You'd be shocked how often people make up stories about police abuse. However more elaborate articles say how he got the thing back. For all we know though he said to the cop "That's just my XboX there's no drugs in there" or "That's my xbox! i didn't steal it! why are you touching it?" or something equally retarded which would raise suspicion.

If the driver agreed to let the cops search his car they can take anything that's too 'suspicious' even if it's not stolen. However, they have to have a reason like if the Xbox looked altered (to make it look not stolen or hollowed out to carry drugs). Especially if Mr. Hillman was a dick about it.

The way this reads this could possibly be a legal seizure of an evidence. HOWEVER, even with all those scenarios it does NOT sound like this officer acted ethically, to me this sounds like a petty 'i'll show him' thing. Where the officer was pissed that his searched turned up nothing. NOT that he 'stole' it. Again, still very very unethical.

Other articles say he got his xbox back when he talked to a sergeant... which he should not have had to do, it should've been down in evidence. So this officer should be AT THE LEAST in trouble for not following the chain of evidence. Hopefully his in more trouble for making the job look bad.

Idiot.

 

[ffxfriek]

"This is the Police, pull over so we can mug you,"

I'm guessing that some smug officer is currently sat down playing GTA on his free console. Do the US police really have the power to confiscate something that is not illegal and without good reason to believe stolen without a warrant?
The system came back not stolen, surely that's enough.

i agree

 

[ace_of_something]

It's not like the police are inherently corrupt or anything...oh no wait.

I take a great deal of offense to that. Nearly all police officers are putting their lives and safety on the line for ungrateful people like yourself. Cops and auxilleries are not some weird aliens from outer space they are human beings too... most of them are good people some of them are bad, just like other people. The problem is when they are bad they have the authority to be VERY bad.

If you get robbed, mugged, or your neighbor has a dog that won't shut the fuck up, I really hope that you receive excellent service from your local law enforcement agency so maybe you can change your tune.

 

[ElephantGuts]

Wow, so the cops really are serious about this being racist to blacks thing, huh? I thought this was over by now. Though, I'm not surprised that if this happened anywhere, it would be in Florida.

 

[Galletea]

It's not like the police are inherently corrupt or anything...oh no wait.

I take a great deal of offense to that. Nearly all police officers are putting their lives and safety on the line for ungrateful people like yourself. Cops and auxilleries are not some weird aliens from outer space they are human beings too... most of them are good people some of them are bad, just like other people. The problem is when they are bad they have the authority to be VERY bad.

If you get robbed, mugged, or your neighbor has a dog that won't shut the fuck up, I really hope that you receive excellent service from your local law enforcement agency so maybe you can change your tune.

Well perhaps it is the attitude of my local law enforcement that has influenced my opinion, but I doubt that crossed your mind. I have been robbed and the police showed up the next day and asked me to ask my neighbours if they saw anything. It took them three hours to attend the scene of a mugging in town (depite the police station being a mile away), and ignore many of the problems that people have reported to them. So I'm sorry to have offended you but your rosy view cannot be shared by everyone.

 

[Scypemonk]

It's probably not a police officer, sounds more like a smart scam. He probably isn't, and wont be the first one who falls for that trick. Seriously, theives have pretended to be policemen or lawenforcers ever since law existed, to easily rob people of their belongings, and this is just another example. Am i the only one this seems obvious to?

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

I live in Florida and I can attest that our police force is corrupt, hateful and crooked. The way they treat people who need help, or are the victims of violent crime is not only out of line, it's criminal. I have long-time family friends that are law enforcement, and they're no exception.

Maybe it was a scam by a thief; maybe it was a million things. But this is the kind of thing our cops do all the time. That's the simplest explanation.

 

[ace_of_something]

It's not like the police are inherently corrupt or anything...oh no wait.

I take a great deal of offense to that. Nearly all police officers are putting their lives and safety on the line for ungrateful people like yourself. Cops and auxilleries are not some weird aliens from outer space they are human beings too... most of them are good people some of them are bad, just like other people. The problem is when they are bad they have the authority to be VERY bad.

If you get robbed, mugged, or your neighbor has a dog that won't shut the fuck up, I really hope that you receive excellent service from your local law enforcement agency so maybe you can change your tune.

Well perhaps it is the attitude of my local law enforcement that has influenced my opinion, but I doubt that crossed your mind. I have been robbed and the police showed up the next day and asked me to ask my neighbours if they saw anything. It took them three hours to attend the scene of a mugging in town (depite the police station being a mile away), and ignore many of the problems that people have reported to them. So I'm sorry to have offended you but your rosy view cannot be shared by everyone.

I am well aware that your experinces color your view of the police. I'm just saying generalizing that 'all police are corrupt' is in the same vein as if a police officer pulled over every kid with dark hair and makeup they see.

The next day? Three hours? That's unreasonable. Honestly though I only visited England once and all my knowledge of their national police department is purely academic... but stateside you would be looking at some serious departmental issues if you can't arrive at a robbery or burglary within the hour. Response times are very important.

Part of the problem might be the size if you have a really really small department they likely don't have the manpower to be everywhere at once. But like you said, they could just be a shitty department.

I am not saying your view is wrong or anything It just saddens me that your area has instilled this in you.

Wow, so the cops really are serious about this being racist to blacks thing, huh? I thought this was over by now. Though, I'm not surprised that if this happened anywhere, it would be in Florida.

Florida actually has had a lot of problems with profiling, one of the worst states in the country (actually i think it's THE worst) part of that being they have a very very high amount of drug trafficking and encourage the behavior.

I actually remember a case of a black police officer from jacksonville getting arrested while in another county (one with a very high drug trafficking rate) because he got angry that he was pulled over without probable cause.

and on topic. What were the nine games? I think that's important too.