UVA Student sues state for $40 Million after illegal arrest by ABC (Charlottesville: 2014, how much)

[NotYetWorth]

U.Va. students sues state, ABC agents for $40M - The Washington Post

Posted this here because it gets the most traffic of any VA forum and there's probably plenty of people from this area who have links to Charlottesville and/or UVA.

The original story was quite shocking in showing the abuse of powers allowed by ABC agents.. who actually carry weapons like they are enforcing anything but underage drinking.

More information about the original arrest: ABC says it's reviewing arrest of UVa student who bought bottled water - The Daily Progress: Local

Your tax dollars at use here folks.

[Bigfoot424]

Agree or disagree with how things were handled by ABC this is a travesty. $40 million. She has zero chance recovering much at all, if anything.

[NotYetWorth]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Agree or disagree with how things were handled by ABC this is a travesty. $40 million. She has zero chance recovering much at all, if anything.

Given how the legal process is a give and take negotiation, she is simply starting high. She'll probably settle for a few hundred grand (maybe more), but that should be enough to bring some serious heat on an antiquated agency with more funding than sense and a real need to be reevaluated.

They were plainclothes, chased her at dusk in a parking lot (close to an area where an abduction recently occurred) while screaming and waving guns, and then jumped on her hood when she tried to leave. In all honesty, she would have been just in running them over, for all she knew they were criminals trying to rob her.

The saddest part about this whole story is that there's an employed team full of people making between 50-100K a year, who hang outside of grocery stores in college towns trying to bust 19 year olds for drinking alcohol. The Fleecing of America? I think so.

[mikecart1]

Give her $1 million. Give the roads of NOVA $39 million. Everywhere I drive now has huge potholes that are just ridiculous. I know half of you drive on 95 south from the Springfield area. You know the lane I'm talking about. It looks like it was hit by a grenade. I heard bus routes had to be changed or canceled because of other streets that are a travesty.

Why? When Japan is able to have an earthquake where entire interstates are destroyed and have those same interstates fixed completely in a just a couple of weeks, there is something clearly wrong with the road construction system here in the US. Then I hear people companies charging $400/hr to repair potholes. What?

A few bottles of Elmer's glue would be better than some of the wannabe repair jobs I've seen lately!

[justtitans]

That is unacceptable behavior by the law enforcement. I don't think she should be well compensated for this but $40 million is definitely pushing it. I can only imagine what long term trauma going through something like this would cause for her.

[slim04]

Originally Posted by NotYetWorth

The saddest part about this whole story is that there's an employed team full of people making between 50-100K a year, who hang outside of grocery stores in college towns trying to bust 19 year olds for drinking alcohol. The Fleecing of America? I think so.

I never quite understood the purpose of ABC stores. Seems like an antiquated byproduct of prohibition.

[NotYetWorth]

Originally Posted by slim04

I never quite understood the purpose of ABC stores. Seems like an antiquated byproduct of prohibition.

This is more than just the ABC store organization, I was referring to an entire agency of ABC Agents who fan out across the state and do "stings" like this which result in a woman being arrested for buying bottled water.

While ABC stores are regulated by the state, I'm not sure how much integration there is between the retail outlets and the jackbooted thugs who harass.

I personally don't mind the ABC stores because I feel as though they prevent trashy liquor stores everywhere like what exists in Maryland or WV. Every corner in Maryland seems to have a tobacco/liquor/gas station scratchoff games (Can't even remember), along with some sad individuals at each one.

[mikecart1]

Originally Posted by NotYetWorth

This is more than just the ABC store organization, I was referring to an entire agency of ABC Agents who fan out across the state and do "stings" like this which result in a woman being arrested for buying bottled water.

While ABC stores are regulated by the state, I'm not sure how much integration there is between the retail outlets and the jackbooted thugs who harass.

I personally don't mind the ABC stores because I feel as though they prevent trashy liquor stores everywhere like what exists in Maryland or WV. Every corner in Maryland seems to have a tobacco/liquor/gas station scratchoff games (Can't even remember), along with some sad individuals at each one.

This ^. While ABC Stores might get a bad wrap, go live in a state without them. Without regulation, you have no idea of what you are buying. You should be glad you can confidently walk into one, of which most of them are relatively clean and organized, employed by decent people that check all IDs, and know that you are buying Grey Goose Vodka when it says that on the label.

If you can buy counterfeit trash on Amazon that supposedly is as legit as it gets, you can definitely buy fake liquor.

ABC Stores are evil, but a necessary evil.

[snowdenscold]

Agreed that I don't mind the actual ABC stores at all. I've always had pleasant experiences inside.

Now it's the whole enforcement arm that seems like a huge waste and needs to be overhauled / eliminated.

[car54]

Originally Posted by NotYetWorth

...The original story was quite shocking in showing the abuse of powers allowed by ABC agents.. who actually carry weapons like they are enforcing anything but underage drinking....

While I definitely do not agree with the handling of this incident. I think it's the result of the creeping militarization of police at all levels in this country....citizens are becoming viewed as combatants in this "war" or that.

But I have to say that ABC cops do much more than underage drinking stings. They also go after the illegal manufacture of alcohol...aka moonshiners. They regularly conduct joint operations with Treasury Department agents (revenuers) and BATF agents. I've spent a lot of time downstate in prime moonshine areas and if my job involved going down in some hollow and busting up somebody's still....I would definitely want to be packing heat!

BTW, the Commonwealth of Virginia pays extremely poorly. I doubt a ABC cop makes much more than $50K per year in rural areas (there is a small nova pay differential). $100 grand is laughable.