Public Outraged Over Police Corvette Seizure That Feels Illegal – But is it?

If we leave things up to the internet, someone is going to get upset over just about anything. If the door is left open even a small crack for controversy to get in, folks around the web are going to figure out how to kick that door down and complain about everything.

However, every once in a while, these random commenters from every corner of the world might just be on to something. In this particular situation, we will let you be the judge.

When the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO) decided to add a shiny C7 Corvette Z06 to their fleet, they were likely acting within the bounds of the law. However, when the Sherriff’s Office headed to Facebook to show off their new ride, it raised more than one eyebrow.

Per the original description from the video, this particular Corvette is the “freeist” addition to the fleet, says ECSO. They go on to inform readers that “No taxpayer dollars were used to fund this vehicle. It was seized from a felony suspect.”

At first glance, maybe nothing seems controversial about a statement like that. At the end of the day, something like this might anger taxpayers if they found out that the ECSO was just out there buying sports cars with their money.

However, where folks rightfully seemed to have an issue was with the fact that it was seized from a “felony suspect,” not necessarily someone who had been convicted. We reached out to the ECSO about how the vehicle was obtained and after getting no response, decided to do some digging.

I’m not exactly a lawyer, but my research turned up that the car was likely obtained by something that’s called “Civil Asset Forfeiture” which basically allows police to “seize property, money, or assets if police merely believe it is connected to criminal activity,” according to civilrights.org. The website continues, “Police do not have to file charges or even establish guilt in these cases before seizing and keeping the property and there is no limit to what police can seize.”

Escambia County Sheriff Steals Corvette Then Gloats Online

While we don’t have the specifics on what happened here, it would appear as if this instance raises red flags on the topic of conflict of interest. Down below, the new owners of the Corvette show off their new ride that has been drawing a lot of heat.