L.A. could seize drunk drivers' cars
The council has repeatedly expanded its vehicle forfeiture program, allowing cars to be seized when they are used in prostitution, street racing and, more recently, illegal dumping and drug transactions. So far, 102 cars have been seized for those offenses.

That number could spike dramatically if police begin seizing cars involved in drunken-driving cases. The LAPD had 9,812 drunken-driving arrests citywide last year and 100 DUI-related deaths from 2001 to 2003.

One of those fatalities occurred in July 2001, when 21-year-old Rebekah-Marie Bales Zask was struck and killed in San Pedro as she tried to cross 25th Street. The driver arrested by police was found to have a .20 blood-alcohol level, more than twice the legal limit.

i skimmed this article earlier, shaking my head. forfeiture is getting out of hand, i think...then, talking to my friend bobby this evening, he said, "did you see your daughter's name in the daily breeze?" and it was the same article i had opened briefly. needless to say i did not read it very carefully; there indeed is bekah's full name.

i may not necessarily endorse this practice of law enforcement agencies profiting from expanding forfeiture laws. but it does warm my heart a little to know that my girl has not been forgotten. the byline for the story is David Zahniser, Copley News Service. i don't recognize his name from the stories that ran in the breeze in 2001.


the story told here is not entirely accurate and certainly far from complete; for instance, it is not mentioned here that after killing bekah, her killer drove home and passed out before being arrested hours later and charged with murder. anyway. he did get my girl's name right.

- posted by barbara @ 4/02/2004 11:36:00 PM