California town shaken as police officers arrested

[JoeyT]

18. It depends on how they seize it, where they seize it, etc.

If it's taken under asset forfeiture, you can write it off. Generally AFed property is shared by the law enforcement agencies that took it, and in some especially shady places the DA/judge gets a cut, too. You don't need to be convicted or charged with a crime, since you aren't the defendant. Instead of being a criminal case against you, it's a civil case against your belongings. You have to hire a lawyer, wait until the court decides to let you complain, and prove the property has never in any way been connected to anything illegal, and would never have been connected to anything illegal in the future.

Even when states try to pull the reins on that stuff, the feds step in and helpfully assist them in getting around state or local laws.

It really ought to be a very limited power, but it isn't.

Edited to add: The lyrics and the beat change, but the tune typically goes something like this story. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/08/12/130812fa_fact_stillman