Police in Oklahoma are deploying an electronic scanner that can drain currency from prepaid credit cards seized at the roadside using civil asset forfeiture laws.
The Electronic Recovery and Access to Data (ERAD) handheld scanner was developed at the request of the Department of Homeland Security for use by US border guards. But the gadget's maker is now marketing it to local and state police, and Oklahoma has bought 16 of the scanners for its highway patrol.
The reader can record data from any magstripe card – even down to hotel keys – and works with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, as well as Best Buy, Costco, Macy's and Walmart gift cards. Any funds found can be frozen or transferred directly to a law enforcement bank account "to protect the integrity of the evidence and ensure the funds are available for trial or forfeiture," ERAD's advertisingstates.
Some sanity is creeping in. Of course, it was the money taken from a Christian rock band ($50k) that caused the kerfluffle but some movement towards freedom can begin, even in the OK state.
State Senator Kyle Loveless (R-OK) has promised new legislation to require that police obtain a conviction before taking funds. He said he has had multiple reports of police abusing their powers for profit.
"We've seen single moms' stuff be taken, a cancer survivor his drugs taken, we saw a Christian band being taken. We've seen innocent people's stuff being taken. We've seen where the money goes and how it's been misspent," he said.
