he town’s police had been pulling over motorists along a main highway,
seizing their property (cars, cash, jewelry, etc.), then presenting
them with an unsavory bargain: Sign a waiver forfeiting all of their
property over to the police, or be arrested for drug crimes where, even
if innocent, they’d face a night or more in jail and attorney and court
fees that would usually amount to more than what the property was worth.