1997 Dateline Transcript

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NBC News Transcripts
August 22, 1997, Friday 10:31 AM
SHOW: DATELINE NBC (9:00 PM ET)
PROBABLE CAUSE?; POLICE IN LOUISIANA HARRASS MOTORISTS AND

SEIZE THEIR PROPERTY FOR NO APPARENT REASON, CLAIMING IT
IS ALL DONE IN THE WAR AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKING
BYLINE: DAWN FRATANGELO
LENGTH: 9220 words
PROBABLE CAUSE?
STONE PHILLIPS: Imagine a place where police stop you in your car for no apparent
reason and interrogate you. They may seize your property, your money, your car,
strip search you and throw you in jail. And you've done nothing wrong. If this
sounds like a foreign dictatorship or some Orwellian nightmare, it's not. It's
happened right here in America. We got enormous viewer response to this story when
we first aired it. And tonight there are new and even more outrageous twists in
this ongoing DATELINE Investigation. Here's John Larson.
Unidentified Dateline Producer: (Voiceover) Is he pulling you over?
(Car approaching from point of view of rear window of moving car)
Unidentified Dateline Cameraman: Yeah, he's pulling me over.
JOHN LARSON reporting: (Voiceover) You are watching an actual traffic stop along
Interstate 10 in Louisiana.
(Car pulling over)
Unidentified Policeman #1: How're you doing, sir?
Dateline Cameraman: How're you doing?
Unidentified Policeman #1: Will you step back here for us, please?
LARSON: (Voiceover) But what this officer doesn't realize is that the car is
rigged with DATELINE's hidden cameras and so is the driver.
(Officer and driver in back of car; driver getting license out of wallet)
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Policeman #1: You getting tired?
Dateline Cameraman: Yeah. I feel OK.
Policeman #1: Yeah?
LARSON: (Voiceover) Why did he pull us over? Listen carefully because this deputy
is about to tell a lie.
(Policeman and driver; policeman)
Policeman #1: The first reason why I'm stopping you, sir, is because you're
slowing down real fast in traffic right there. I don't know if you're just getting
tired or what.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Wait a minute. We didn't slow down real fast. Our cruise
control was set below the speed limit and five hidden cameras show we were not
breaking any traffic laws. But as we passed through Louisiana, police stopped us
anyway, just like all these people say happened to them.
(Policeman and driver; steering wheel; views of steering wheel and the road from
the five hidden cameras; police with pulled over motorist; group of people sitting
in rows)
LARSON: How many of you felt the police were lying to you about why they pulled
you over?
(All the people raise their hands)
LARSON: How many of you think something is going drastically wrong in Louisiana?
(All the people raise their hands)
LARSON: (Voiceover) Louisiana, one of the nation's favorite tourist destinations

and Interstate 10 cuts through the heart of it. And for the most part it looks
like any other interstate. But look closely. Up and down I-10 our cameras recorded
out-of-state motorists pulled off to the side of the road and detained while
police searched them and their cars.
(Traffic; road whizzing by; Louisiana welcome road sign; alligator; cart pulled by
horse; restaurant; fish frying; clowns; people dancing; musician; map with
Interstate 10; roadside scenery; motorist pulled off road)
Unidentified Man #1: I felt like I was being attacked by the Gestapo.
Unidentified Woman #1: He was an angry bully.
Unidentified Woman #2: I was terrorized. I was so frightened that I cried all the
way out of the state of Louisiana.
LARSON: (Voiceover) What's going on here? Police say Louisiana's Interstate 10 is

a major drug route between Texas and Florida and what's going on here began as
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what many thought was a good idea--to help win the drug war. Police across the
country were given a new weapon--tough new laws designed to hit the drug dealers
where it hurt most, in the wallet. It's called asset forfeiture, where police
seize the assets of the drug dealers--the fancy cars, the cash.
(Group of people; Interstate 10 sign; traffic; police searching cars; motorist

pulled over; stack of currency; policeman frisking a motorist; bags of drugs and
pile of money)
LARSON: But a five-month DATELINE investigation here in Louisiana found that it

may not just be the drug dealers who have something to fear, but innocent,
law-abiding Americans. DATELINE found hundreds of cases which raised disturbing
questions. Are police lying to, bullying, harassing innocent people? Even taking
their money and property under the cover of law? And what are police doing with
the millions of dollars they seize here? The answers will likely surprise you.
Ms. CHERYL SANDERS: They stole my car. It was highway robbery. It was stealing.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Cheryl Sanders was on her way to California to visit her
mother for Christmas when police stopped her on Interstate 10, claiming she was
speeding and had failed to use her turn signal--what they called improper lane
usage. But instead of giving her a traffic ticket, police from the town of Sulfur,
Louisiana, took her to jail and made her disrobe.
(Traffic at night; car at side of road; jail)
Ms. SANDERS: I'm standing there naked and she goes through my clothes and checks
them all.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Police accused her of being a drug trafficker and ordered her
strip searched.
(Jail cell)
Ms. SANDERS: And for what exactly, for what? For something--because they wanted my
car.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Her car was a white Lincoln Towncar--all Sanders says she had
left from her recent divorce. But citing Louisiana's tough drug forfeiture law,
police seized it. The only odd thing is, there were no drugs on Cheryl, no drugs
in the car.
(Photo of Cheryl's car)
Ms. SANDERS: Then they said, Well, you're free to go now, but we're keeping your
car and find your own way home from Louisiana.'
Mr. TOM LORENZI (Attorney): I never believed that we would get to this point.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Tom Lorenzi is a lawyer who defends many of the people the
police pull over.
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(Tom Lorenzi)
Mr. LORENZI: The people have this belief that before the state can do something to
you it has to prove that you committed a crime, but under the forfeiture law,
that's not the case.
LARSON: It's innocent until proven guilty?
Mr. LORENZI: No, it's guilty until proven innocent. What happens now is, without
ever having to prove anything, they can take it. Now, it's up to you to come and
get it.
LARSON: They don't have to prove anything?
Mr. LORENZI: They don't have to prove anything. They have to prove what they call
probable cause. Well, probable cause is precious little, trust me.
LARSON: (Voiceover) In Cheryl's case, probable cause was what police claimed was a
false bottom in the trunk of her car--a small two and a half inch space that
police say could have--could have--been used to conceal narcotics.
(White car; photo of small space in trunk of car)
Ms. SANDERS: I've never been in trouble in my life.
LARSON: (Voiceover) There were no narcotics inside, not even a trace. Cheryl had
purchased the car used, and says she never saw the compartment. Yet police accused
her of a crime: conspiracy to possess over a pound of cocaine. In a court hearing
a month later, police admitted they had no evidence.
(Small space in trunk of car; police report; tape player)
Unidentified Attorney #1: (From courtroom tape) Did you find any drugs on this
lady's possession?
Unidentified Policeman #2: (From courtroom tape) No, sir, I didn't.
Attorney: (From tape) And you also determined that she'd never been arrested for a
drug crime.
Policeman #2: (From tape) Right.
Attorney: (From tape) You have no information whatsoever to lead you to believe
that this lady has ever had anything to do with drugs?
Policeman #2: (From tape) That is correct.
Unidentified Policeman #3: (In silhouette) They got their own rules, their own
laws...and this is the South.
LARSON: (Voiceover) This Louisiana law enforcement officer, afraid of reprisals,

would speak only in silhouette. He says Louisiana's drug forfeiture law is turning
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cops into bounty hunters.
(Silhouette of officer)
Policeman #3: (In silhouette) I mean they just talk about what they would like to
seize. So I could get points. You seize a Mercedes and you did good. You seize a
Ford Pinto and you ain't done so good.
LARSON: (Voiceover) DATELINE found hundreds of cases like these 17 people who say
they were not breaking any traffic laws, yet police pulled them over, searched
them, even tore their cars apart.
(Group of people; individual people)
LARSON: How many of you had drugs in your car? How many of you are drug dealers or
were arrested for drugs--had a criminal record? Nobody.
Unidentified Man #2: You know, there's got to be a lot of people that think we're
15 radicals up here, you know, that deserve to get pulled over, we did something
to do that. But you know, really, get on I-10. Try it. You'll see. I mean, it'll
happen.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Not a bad idea. That's exactly what DATELINE did. We rented a
Lincoln just like Cheryl Sander's car with Florida license plates and we rigged it
with several hidden cameras. Then we drove off down Interstate 10 in Louisiana.
It's a busy highway--very busy. Federal highway data shows more than 30,000 cars a
day pass through this part of rural Louisiana. So what are the chances of our one
Florida rental car getting pulled over?
(Car being rigged with cameras; Florida license plates; traffic)
Dateline Producer: Speed is set at 63 miles per hour on the cruise control.
LARSON: (Voiceover) We set our cruise control just under the 65 mile an hour speed
limit. And we were driving carefully--very carefully. But on our very first day
out, as our hidden cameras were rolling, we pass a local sheriff's deputy parked
in the median. Suddenly, he pulls out.
(Cruise control; car driving; car parked in the median)
Dateline Producer: Here comes the sheriff.
LARSON: (Voiceover) The deputy, in the white car on the left, makes his way
through traffic and starts following us. But what he doesn't know is that we're
following him with a second car, and a second camera crew.
(White car making its way through traffic)
Dateline Producer: Well, I'm going 64 miles an hour and he is right on my tail,
right now.
LARSON: (Voiceover) On our tail, beside us, mile after mile. We are not speeding,
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we are not swerving or weaving, not even changing lanes. Sound like a familiar
story?
(Police car following from DATELINE car's point of view; speedometer; car driving
along in same lane)
Woman #2: I was not speeding.
Man #1: I don't believe I did anything wrong.
Unidentified Man #3: I wasn't speeding at all.
Unidentified Woman #3: I don't think I was speeding.
Unidentified Man #4: He said I was speeding.
Unidentified Woman #4: I wasn't changing lanes. I wasn't speeding.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Plenty of cars with Louisiana license plates are speeding
right past us, but the deputy doesn't seem interested. After 13 miles of careful,
normal, safe driving, the deputy apparently can't wait any longer.
(Car speeding past Larson's car; police car staying behind them; lights flashing
on police car)
Dateline Producer: Well, here we go.
LARSON: (Voiceover) He motions for the driver, a DATELINE producer, to come to the
back of the car.
(Policeman getting out of his car)
Unidentified Policeman #4: How you doing?
Dateline Producer: Good, what's the problem?
Policeman #4: You wide awake or what?
Dateline Producer: Totally.
Policeman #4: See your license?
LARSON: (Voiceover) It's illegal for police to pull you over for no reason
whatsoever, so why is he pulling us over?
(Policeman and Dateline producer)
Policeman #4: You were speeding up and slowing down. You were going from line to
line.
Dateline Producer: I haven't crossed the line at all. I had my cruise control on.
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Policeman #4: I didn't say you went across the line, you were going from line to
line, speeding up, slowing down.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Wait a minute. We had five hidden cameras rolling the entire
time--cameras that show we were not speeding up and slowing down, not weaving. You
are watching an illegal traffic stop by a police officer who is lying.
(Scenes from the five hidden cameras; policeman and Dateline producer)
Policeman #4: Where you all coming from?
Dateline Producer: We were in Lake Charles.
LARSON: (Voiceover) He asks our producer questions, then he goes and talks to the
passenger, a DATELINE cameraman.
(Policeman with Dateline producer; policeman going to car)
Policeman #4: How you doing?
Dateline Cameraman: Good. How're you?
Policeman #4: Can I see the rental contract?
LARSON: (Voiceover) He lets us go with a warning. But if we didn't have our hidden
cameras, you wouldn't know it had ever happened. We thought that might be the end
of it. But the very next day, on the same stretch of highway...
(Policeman and Dateline producer; policeman getting back into his car)
Dateline Producer: Cruise control is now set at 64 miles per hour.
LARSON: (Voiceover) It happens again.
(Policeman signalling with lights to pull over)
Dateline Producer: He's pulling you over?
Dateline cameraman: Yeah, he's pulling me over.
LARSON: (Voiceover) This time, our DATELINE cameraman is driving.
(Policeman and Dateline cameraman)
Policeman #1: The first reason why I'm stopping you, sir, is because you're
slowing down real fast in traffic right there. I don't know if you were just
getting tired or what?
Dateline Cameraman: I had my cruise control set.
Policeman #1: You had it set?
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Dateline Cameraman: At 64, yeah.
LARSON: (Voiceover) And something else: Not only did police illegally stop us for
no reason whatsoever, but the deputy looked in our cameraman's wallet, asking how
much money he had. And he asks our producer the same thing.
(Policeman and cameraman; policeman looking in wallet)
Policeman #1: Stop impeding traffic.
Dateline Cameraman: OK.
Policeman #1: Drive 65, get the hell out of here.
LARSON: After ten minutes of interrogation, he lets us go. The law is clear:
police must never stop you without a reason; it's against the law. But we got off
easy, compared to what happened to Karen Bryant.
(Policeman getting in his car; driving along)
Ms. KAREN BRYANT: I was on the road, coming back from a church convention in
Pensacola, Florida.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Alone, on this deserted stretch of Interstate 10, Karen Bryant
was about to be pulled over by a Louisiana deputy on drug patrol--a traffic stop
that would change her life forever.
(Cars driving; police lights)
Ms. BRYANT: (Voiceover) I, literally, thought I had stepped off into "The Twilight
Zone."
(View of road from moving car)
PHILLIPS: We asked the two officers who stopped our crew on Interstate 10 for a
comment. Both declined our request for interviews. Deputy Pierce is now being sued
in civil court by a Hispanic couple who says he stopped, searched and harassed
them on the highway for no reason. Pierce denies the allegations.
How much power do these sheriffs have? When we come back, one woman's terrifying
ordeal, and DATELINE confronts a Louisiana sheriff.
LARSON: Deputy Fontenot? John Larson from DATELINE NBC, NBC News. Why was it
necessary to handcuff her and strip search her?
(Announcements)
Announcer: From Studio 3B in New York, here is Jane Pauley.
JANE PAULEY: Now, back to our story. Our DATELINE Hidden Camera Investigation is
focusing on Calcasieu and Jefferson Davis parishes where police stop people in
their cars for any reason or no apparent reason at all. They threaten, harass,
8 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
seize possessions, purportedly in search of drugs. Is that what they're really

after? That question still haunts one woman who learned what can happen when a
sheriff's deputy takes the law and his power to the extreme. Again, here's John
Larson.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Karen Bryant had never been in trouble with the law. She was
headed home to her two children after a weeklong church convention, when an
unmarked car began following her.
(Road at night; Bryant playing the flute; photo of Bryant and two children; car
headlights seen in rearview mirror)
LARSON: What did you think it was?
Ms. KAREN BRYANT: I had no idea.
LARSON: Didn't look like a police car?
Ms. BRYANT: No. It looked like a white sports car.
LARSON: (Voiceover) The man driving turned on a blue flashing light, similar to
this one and pulled her over. He was wearing a plain brown jacket and showed no
identification.
(Car with flashing light on dash; police car pulling over to side of road)
Ms. BRYANT: And he walked up to the car and he said, I'm police. Roll your window
down.'
LARSON: (Voiceover) Karen had heard about the so-called "Blue light" rapist, who
impersonated being a police officer. And now, a man who had gotten out of an
unmarked car was asking her to get out of her car.
(Car with flashing light mounted on dash; newspaper headlines about rapist)
Ms. BRYANT: I said, Well I'm not getting out of my car or rolling my window down
until you show me some credentials.' And at that point, he started screaming. I
thought, He's not legit...'
LARSON: Yeah.
Ms. BRYANT: ...so I put the car in drive and took off.
LARSON: Why were you running?
Ms. BRYANT: Because I thought he was going to kill me.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Karen Bryant did what women have been told to do in that
situation: head to the nearest well-lit area. She sped to a gas station, where she
hoped to call police. But the man in the sports car caught her and tore her from
her car.
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(Car driving down dark highway toward lights of buildings; car pulling into
service station; gas pumps)
Ms. BRYANT: And he threw me on the car and handcuffed me.
LARSON: (Voiceover) The man in the unmarked car turned out to be sheriff's deputy
Dennis Fontenot--a six-foot, 230-pound weightlifter, who claimed Bryant had
improperly changed lanes. And when Bryant threatened to call a lawyer:
(Fontenot talking)
Ms. BRYANT: He said, If you're going to act like an ass, we're going to treat you
like an ass.'
LARSON: (Voiceover) They took Bryant to jail, where Deputy Fontenot ordered her
strip-searched. She says it was the most humiliating moment in her life.
(Bars on jail cell; lower body of police officer shown as he walks through jail
corridor)
Ms. BRYANT: The type of strip search they issued or ordered was a cavity search. I
mean, I felt sub--in--subhuman. I was being treated subhumanly.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Karen Bryant sued and the sheriff settled the case out of
court. Deputy Fontenot was fired.
(Ms. Bryant; Fontenot opening car door and getting out of car)
LARSON: Deputy Fontenot? John Larson from DATELINE NBC, NBC News.
Deputy DENNIS FONTENOT: How're you doing?
LARSON: Good.
(Voiceover) So why, when we caught up with him, was he still in uniform? Because
he went to work for the neighboring sheriff, and now he's back on patrol.
(Fontenot talking to Larson)
LARSON: Why was it necessary to handcuff her and strip search her?
Deputy FONTENOT: I didn't strip search her.
LARSON: Or ask for the strip search, I guess.
Deputy FONTENOT: Oh, talk to my lawyer, OK?
LARSON: (Voiceover) So how does a woman, who just an hour earlier was on her way
home from a church convention, wind up fingerprinted, photographed, and
jailed--all for something that supposedly began as a minor traffic violation:
improper lane usage. Remember, improper lane usage was one of the same reasons
police used to stop Cheryl Sanders, and then seize her car.
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(Bryant singing with church choir; fingerprints; police photo of Bryant; corridors
of jail; Cheryl Sanders walking; photo of car)
Policeman #4: Speeding up, slowing down...
Dateline Producer: I've had my...
Policeman #4: ...going from line to line.
LARSON: (Voiceover) And it was the same reason deputies used to pull us over, and
we weren't alone.
(Police officer talking to man on side of roadway)
Unidentified Woman #5: Improper lane change.
Man #4: Improper lane change.
Woman #4: Improper lane usage.
Woman #2: Improper lane change?
LARSON: (Voiceover) DATELINE found hundreds of other traffic tickets, all saying
the same thing: improper lane usage. A grandmother, on her way home to Texas.
(Group of people who had been ticketed for improper lane usage; ticket paperwork;
close-up shot of words "Improper lane usage" on one document)
Woman #1: I was shook down. I was felt all over my body; my things were gone
through in my car and thrown on the ground; he implied that he would forget
everything if I gave him a beautiful leather jacket I had inside there.
LARSON: (Voiceover) This woman was on her way to her sister's funeral when police
stopped her, searched her car--not once, not twice...
(Woman #5)
Woman #5: Three times, within six miles.
LARSON: On the same day?
Woman #5: On the same day.
LARSON: How long did it take you to go those six miles?
Woman #5: About four and a half hours.
LARSON: That's about a mile an hour.
Woman #5: Yeah.
LARSON: You could have walked it faster than that.
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Woman #5: Yeah, definitely.
LARSON: All these improper lane changes, what's your suspicion on what's really
going on?
Mr. LORENZI: Well, they're pulling them over because that given police officer
thinks that if he gets this person pulled over, he's going to get lucky, and he's
going to get money or he's going to get drugs.
LARSON: If it sounds like police are on a "fishing expedition," they just might
be. Remember, under Louisiana law, police can keep much of what they seize. So out
here on the highway, it may just be a numbers game: The more people police pull
over, the more they're likely to seize. And improper lane usage--that's vague
enough to pull over just about anyone.
Policeman #3: (In silhouette) It's more law enforcement breaking the law than the
citizens.
LARSON: (Voiceover) This Louisiana cop says police are on a fishing expedition--
targeting out of state drivers, who are less likely to come back and fight police
in court.
(Police officer with face in shadows for confidentiality; police searching car on
side of highway)
Policeman #3: (Voiceover) They'd get him out of the car, search him. Want to know
how they got the watch or how they got the money in their pocket and go through
their luggage, things like that.
(Police searching car)
LARSON: (Voiceover) And, says this officer, some Louisiana police illegally target
drivers for the color of their skin.
(Policeman speaking to black woman on side of road)
Policeman #3: There's a lot of minorities out there getting robbed.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Like these two hispanic men: Evaristo, his son Jesse and their
friend, Nohu, were taking almost $ 12,000 in cash from their jobs in North
Carolina to their families in Mexico. It was all perfectly legal. Afraid of
Mexican bandits, they hid their money, their life savings, in their tennis shoes.
Lavonne Meads is their employer.
(Hispanic men talking to Dateline reporter; close-up of shoe; Meads)
Ms. LAVONNE MEADS: I wouldn't have been surprised if it had happened to them in
Mexico, but I was very surprised--shocked, disappointed, all those things, that it
happened in this country.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Police from the town of Sulfur stopped the men here, along
Interstate 10, for speeding. They accused them of being drug traffickers--even
12 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
though there was not a trace of drugs and even though the men had no criminal
record. Police threw both men in jail, charging them with illegal use of US
currency, and they put Evaristo's 10-year-old son, Jesse, into foster care.
(Highway, road sign along Interstate 10; Evaristo, Nohu and Jesse walking through
field; Sulfur Police Department paperwork, showing charges against hispanic men;
Jesse)
Ms. MEADS: He's just a little boy and he was--I knew he was bound to be terrified
at being ta--you know, being stopped, having his father carted off to jail.
LARSON: (Voiceover) During our four trips to Louisiana, we saw dozens of cars
stopped. Most of the drivers were minorities. Civil rights lawyers in Louisiana
have a name for this type of traffic violation. They call it DWH--driving while
Hispanic. Evaristo and Nohu hired Tom Lorenzi's firm to help try to get their
truck and their life savings back. And that's when they discovered another
astonishing aspect of Louisiana's forfeiture law.
(Police cars and stopped cars along roadways; Hispanic man standing with his hands
behind his head while his car is searched; Lorenzi sitting at desk, talking on
telephone)
Mr. LORENZI: You have to put up a $ 2500 bond in order to get to go to court, to
have the opportunity to prove that you're not guilty of anything.
LARSON: (Voiceover) It took nearly three days for their employer, Lavonne Meads,
to drive over 1,000 miles to Louisiana to help get the men out of jail and get
Jesse out of foster care.
(Vehicles being driven on interstate)
Ms. MEADS: It's been very difficult on all of us. It really has. Everybody has
been affected tremendously by this experience.
LARSON: (Voiceover) It took three months, but they got their truck and most of
their money back. But they say their legal battle cost them more than $ 4,000--a
third of their life savings.
(Truck being driven down dirt road; Evaristo, Nohu and Jesse in truck)
Ms. MEADS: The system is preying on people who are not truly capable of defending
themselves.
Ms. SANDERS: I wasn't going to let them get away with it. It was wrong and I had
to do something about it.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Cheryl Sanders, the woman from California whose car was taken,
also decided to fight back. She had to post a bond equal to the value of her
car--$ 7,500, just to begin the process of trying to get her own car back. She
took a bus back to Louisiana and hired and attorney. Her legal battle took seven
months.
13 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
(Sanders sitting on porch, reading documents from state of Louisiana; Cheryl

getting off or bus; Cheryl walking with attorney)
Ms. SANDERS: I'm scared to death of this town.
LARSON: (Voiceover) But Cheryl won, sort of.
(Lincoln Towncar parked beside house)
Unidentified Attorney #2: Well, here it is.
Ms. SANDERS: Oh, I'm just--I'm so happy to see my vehicle that you wouldn't
believe it.
LARSON: (Voiceover) She got her car back and went home to California.
(Cheryl driving car )
Ms. SANDERS: See you, Tim. Thank you!
LARSON: (Voiceover) But her fight had been so expensive, she had to sell the car
to pay off her legal bills. The only transportation she has left is a bicycle.
(Sanders driving car; Sanders opening garage and walking to bicycle)
Ms. SANDERS: I can't imagine that this still happens in America. I just can't
imagine it.
Ms. BRYANT: This is America, and I do realize they have to do their job. But when
they are acting worse than the people they are trying to arrest, there's something
wrong.
LARSON: Ricky Edwards is the sheriff of Jefferson Davis Parish.
Sheriff RICKY EDWARDS: The deputies are out there doing their jobs. The state
police and most law enforcement are out there doing their job.
LARSON: (Voiceover) It was his deputies who stopped Karen Bryant. And they also
stopped us.
(Fontenot and other police officer in picture boxes on the screen)
LARSON: Would it surprise you to know that your deputies pulled us over?
Sheriff EDWARDS: No, it wouldn't surprise me. I--I don't know, I wasn't there. If
he said you were speeding, I would have to assume that you were speeding.
LARSON: (Voiceover) But we had five hidden cameras rolling, that show we did not
commit any traffic violation. We were just another out-of-state car passing
through.
(Footage from hidden cameras rolling in boxes on screen)
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Sheriff EDWARDS: Are you insinuating that we are targeting out-of-state people? I
can only tell you that we are not.
LARSON: These 17 people find that hard to believe.
Woman #2: I drive around it. I now live in Georgia.
(Voiceover) I come to Austin, Texas, to visit my daughters and grandchildren. I go

north and then south.
(Photo of woman and grandchildren)
LARSON: You drive around the whole state?
Woman #2: That is right! And I shall never drive in the state of Louisiana.
Sheriff EDWARDS: We're not here to violate anybody's constitutional rights.

We're--we are waging a war on drugs.
LARSON: If this is a war on drugs, it sounds like there are a lot of civilian
casualties.
Sheriff EDWARDS: I--i--if that is happening, then I would definitely want to have
that feedback and I would definitely try to correct that.
LARSON: Your deputies not only owe them an apology, they probably owe them their
badges.
Sheriff EDWARDS: We'd have to look into that and see, yes.
LARSON: (Voiceover) If you're thinking all this might convince Louisiana to change
the law, think again. Critics say police have too much money at stake.
(Police cars and stopped vehicle on side of roadway)
LARSON: How much money are we talking about?
Mr. LORENZI: Each year in this one jurisdiction where we are right now, it's about
$ 3 million.
LARSON: (Voiceover) So how are police spending the millions of dollars to fight
the war on drugs? They used some of the money to find white powder, all right. But
it wasn't cocaine.
(Print out of drug forfeiture fund being printed; skiers at ski resort)
PAULEY: Cheryl Sanders has filed a federal rights suit against the police and the
town in which she she arrested. Those named in the suit deny all charges. The
trial date is set for May of 1998.
When we come back our story takes another outrageous twist as we learn how many
people stand to win, and win big, in Louisiana's war on drugs.
15 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
LARSON: There's financial incentive for the officers to pull these people over and
take away money and cars.
Sheriff EDWARDS: There's financial incentive in the war on drugs, yes.
LARSON: Doesn't that seem odd?
Sheriff EDWARDS: No.
(Announcements)
Announcer: From our studios in New York, here again is Stone Phillips.
PHILLIPS: Now, back to our Hidden Camera Investigation. We've seen innocent people
threatened, searched, even jailed in some parts of Louisiana, for minor traffic
violations. It all stems from Louisiana's effort to crack down on the drug trade.
Police have been given astonishing power to seize cash, cars and property without
proving a crime has been committed. So what happens when they do find a drug
dealer? And what's all that money paying for? Once again, John Larson.
LARSON: (Voiceover) It was a week-long luxury ski trip in Aspen, Colorado. Four
Louisiana police deputies rented a condo, bought ski clothing in ritzy boutiques
and took to the slopes. Police billed the trip as "deputy training," official
police business--all expenses paid with money police seized from alleged drug
dealers back here in Louisiana, most of them stopped along Interstate 10.
(People snow skiing; condo at ski resort; Aspen tram cars; people snow skiing;
cars being driven on interstate; sign for Interstate 10)
Mr. DANIEL KYLE: Well, anytime a training program is at an exotic vacation spot,
then yes, that raises auditors' skepticism.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Louisiana state auditor, Daniel Kyle, investigated the Aspen
ski trip in 1990 and found that not only was it bogus--an illegal use of drug
forfeiture money--but that an additional $ 200,000 missing.
(Report on training program at Aspen; lists of uses of drug forfeiture money)
Mr. KYLE: There's a great deal of money at stake and the unique thing about this
program is so much of the money is in cash. And that makes it very vulnerable to
abuse.
LARSON: (Voiceover) So, how does money seized here, wind up here?
(Skiers on mountainside)
LARSON: You have to look at what makes Louisiana's drug forfeiture law different
from almost every other state in the union. In most states, seized drug money goes
into a statewide crime fund, where it's carefully administered to fight the war on
drugs. But here in Louisiana, individual police departments keep 60 percent of
everything they seize--the cars, the cash. And often, the money goes right back to
the very policeman who made the bust.
16 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
Policeman #3: There was always money coming up missing.
LARSON: (Voiceover) This Louisiana police officer says the ski trip is just the
tip of an illegal iceberg.
(Policeman #3 in silhouette)
Policeman #3: It's more law enforcement breaking the law than the citizens.
LARSON: One deputy and a sheriff were sentenced to prison for fraud, but three of
the skiing deputies are still Louisiana cops; one became chief of police. Ricky
Edwards is the new sheriff. He says the abuses have stopped.
(Newspaper articles showing arrest of police officers for fraud; Edwards)
Sheriff EDWARDS: We have to use it on narcotics-related expenses. We do

educational programs. We support the DARE program.
LARSON: (Voiceover) We wondered: How were the police spending the money? DATELINE
examined more than 1,500 checks from Sheriff Edwards' drug forfeiture account, all
personally signed by the sheriff. We computerized the checks and found police
spending seized money all over town. Thousand of dollars were spent at local
restaurants--the Boudin King, Mr. Gatti's and Bruce's Donut King.
(Checks from police department; person typing at computer terminal; list of

expenditures of drug forfeiture money; food being cooked; Boudin King restaurant;
Mr. Gatti's restaurant; Bruce's Donut King)
LARSON: Are these undercover drug informants?
Sheriff EDWARDS: A lot of them are undercover operations, where we pay when the
agents come in, that we pay food for them.
LARSON: Come on, it's the Donut King!
Sheriff EDWARDS: Sure.
LARSON: You are buying the doughnuts for the guys, right?
Sheriff EDWARDS: Sure.
LARSON: (Voiceover) But back in 1990, the state auditor cited deputies for
improperly dining on drug money at the very same restaurants. We also found police
buying merchandise--a lot of it: $ 3800 at Wal-Mart, $ 8,000 at the hardware
store. Police would not show us documentation on what they bought or how the
shopping trips helped fight the war on drugs. Police also would not document the
checks written directly to individual deputies--$ 60,000 to one officer. The
sheriff said the money was used to buy drugs in undercover operations. Based on
DATELINE's information, the state auditor believes it's time to audit them again.
(Report showing uses of drug money; list of stores where money was spent; Wal-Mart
store; Stine hardware store; list of other businesses where money was spent; list
17 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
of checks written to individual deputies; Kyle looking at paperwork at desk)
Mr. KYLE: Yes, they certainly raise flags and we would look more in depth. We
would try and determine if they document it, which programs they were spent on and
what the money was used for.
LARSON: (Voiceover) But, by far, the most money, hundreds of thousands of dollars,
went to the police themselves, in the form of salaries and overtime pay. Have
police departments up and down I-10 become addicted to the money they seize? The
money is critical to police budgets. Without the flow of seized cash, some police
chiefs admit they'd have to lay off cops.
(List of monetary amounts on computer screen; cars on interstate; police officer

searching stopped car on side of Interstate 10)
LARSON: There's financial incentive for the officers to pull these people over and
take away money and cars.
Sheriff EDWARDS: There's financial incentive in the war on drugs, yes.
LARSON: Doesn't that seem odd?
Sheriff EDWARDS: No.
LARSON: Despite the innocent people who have been inconvenienced, harassed and
hurt, remember: This tough search and seizure policy was originally invented for a
very good reason--to catch drug dealers. For instance, Louisiana state police say
they seized 94 pounds of cocaine on the highway last year. But consider the case
of Terry Canipe, a convicted drug trafficker who had served time and then escaped
from a Mexican prison.
(Cheryl Sanders riding bicycle; Karen Bryant walking with dog; headlights on
vehicles traveling on highway at night; police photos of Canipe)
LARSON: Canipe was driving a Mercedes like this one when police pulled him over on
Interstate 10. He was wearing an expensive Rolex watch at the time. When they
looked inside the car, they found marijuana in his glove box. When they searched
the trunk, they found prescription narcotics and $ 156,000 in cash. Tom Lorenzi
was Canipe's lawyer.
Mr. LORENZI: I was contacted by the district attorney's office and was made an
offer. And that was that if he would agree to forfeit the Mercedes and the
majority of the money, they would give the rest of the money back to him, give him
the Rolex and drop all the charges.
LARSON: And let him go?
Mr. LORENZI: And let him go.
LARSON: (Voiceover) That's right. After charging Canipe with possession of

marijuana, possession of a narcotic, illegal use of currency and obstruction of
justice, they took his money and let him go. David Kimball is the assistant
18 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
district attorney who made the deal.
(Paperwork and list of charges against Canipe; police photos of Canipe; Kimball)
LARSON: On the face of it, it looks as though you wanted the money and the car
more than the guy.
Mr. DAVID KIMBALL: Well, with what I had, I probably did. With the small amount of
marijuana and some pills, which are very difficult to prove if they're illegal or
not, I probably got the best I could get out of it.
LARSON: You got a great deal.
Mr. KIMBALL: Yeah, I did.
LARSON: It was a profitable deal for everyone involved, in fact, very profitable.
This is $ 150,000 in cash, the same amount that police seized from Terry Canipe.
Now under Louisiana state law, police legally kept 60 percent, $ 90,000. Under the
same law, the prosecutor's office got 20 percent--that worked out to $ 30,000 in
cash. Now, if you think this in an unusual arrangement, don't complain about it to
the judge. The final 20 percent, $ 30,000, went to a judicial expense fund--the
judges themselves. It's an arrangement unlike any other in the country.
Representative HENRY HYDE: That's a c--classic conflict of interest.
LARSON: (Voiceover) US Congressman Henry Hyde of the House Judiciary Committee.
(Congressman Henry Hyde)
Rep. HYDE: (Voiceover) The built-in conflicts of interest where the people who
seize the property profit from that, it's--it's le--legitimating extortion.
(Police car; dollar amounts on computer screen)
Man #4: It reminds me kind of like when I was in elementary school, and, you know,
if you're kindergarten the fifth-grade bully's going to pick on you. You've got
lunch money, don't you?' you know. Well, you don't mind if I look, you know, in
your lunch box and take it anyway.' I thought it was kind of the same thing.
LARSON: (Voiceover) All these people agreed, they never would have believed this
story--that police could do this and then profit from it.
(Group of people in interview)
Woman #3: Appalling. Unlike anything you would ever suspect--expect out of someone
who was supposed to serve the public.
Woman #2: This is still the United States of America and we still have rights.
LARSON: (Voiceover) They all thought that way. Until they were driving through
Louisiana and saw lights in their rearview mirror.
19 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
(Police cars with stopped motorists on side of road at night)
PHILLIPS: Since our first report aired, a state auditor has looked at the
sheriff's books and ordered them to keep better track of the money and to
reimburse the parish for some of the meals. But the story's not over. DATELINE's
original report got an enormous response from viewers and from state and federal
officials. We talked with Louisiana's governor and we learned of one more shocking
case that may have backfired on police themselves. All that when we come back.
LARSON: Is it true you guys planted drugs in a car?
Officer BYRON ROMERO: I'm not commenting on that. Contact my attorney.
(Announcements)
Announcer: Here again is Jane Pauley.
PAULEY: When we first told you in January about what was happening in Louisiana,
this was the response we got: more than 7,500 E-mails, 2,000 faxes. Within a
month, the FBI, the Justice Department and the state of Louisiana were
investigating. Then we discovered more cases, including one particularly shocking
traffic stop. But this time, it could be the police who end up in jail. Again,
here's John Larson.
Unidentified News Anchor #1: (News broadcast) It's the talk across Louisiana--
DATELINE's report on illegal traffic stops.
(Footage of vehicles pulled over along interstate)
Unidentified News Anchor #2: (News broadcast) ...Louisiana Commission on Law

Enforcement is investigating allegations in the DATELINE report...
LARSON: (Voiceover) The DATELINE report hit Louisiana like a thunder cloud,
triggering a downpour of concern and criticism.
(Newspaper headlines about I-10 stops)
Mr. MIKE CASSIDY (Jefferson Davis Parish District Attorney) I was appalled by the
tabloid journalism methods that DATELINE used.
Mr. RICK BRYANT (Calcasieu Parish District Attorney): A lot of the statements
made, and I'm not going to go through them all, that are totally false, totally
inaccurate.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Despite the criticism, one thing stood out: a call for change
in Louisiana.
(Newspaper headline about Dateline's story)
Mr. STEPHEN WINDHORST (Louisiana State Representative): If a quarter of that's

true, it's really, really disturbing.
20 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
LARSON: (Voiceover) Within a week, the FBI announced it was investigating traffic
stops on Interstate 10. Thousands of motorists whopped the Louisiana governor and
legislature with calls--some claiming they'd been harassed, others threatening to
cancel their Louisiana vacations.
(Newspaper headlines about Dateline story; traffic on I-10)
Ms. MEADS: (Dateline's previous report) It's been very difficult on all of us, it
really has.
LARSON: (Voiceover) The state legislature watched our report amidst concerns the
negative publicity would cost the state $ 130 million in lost tourism.
(Legislators watching Dateline story)
Mr. DONALD KENNARD (Louisiana State Representative): You know, I'm very angry;
I'm--my voice is trembling. And I'm just so embarrassed that this has happened.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Many in the state legislature promised to fix the

problem--even proposing a new law that would remove the police incentive to stop
motorists and seize property, by placing seized assets directly into a central
fund.
(Legislators in session)
Ms. AUDREY McCAIN (Louisiana State Representative): And my bill takes that
incentive away, puts it into a separate location where we now have accountability
and we as a legislature can monitor how that money is spent.
LARSON: (Voiceover) The proposal met with stiff opposition--especially from the
sheriffs' and district attorneys' associations.
(Cassidy in meeting with legislature)
Mr. CASSIDY: Because if you take away that incentive from those agencies that do
not have the proper tax base, if you take away that incentive, then they'll never
get involved.
LARSON: (Voiceover) While some pledged to attack the problem, others attacked
DATELINE. In the parish where Cheryl Sanders and the Hispanic men were pulled over
and arrested, the sheriff suggested to the local press that drug dealers were
somehow behind the local report.
(McCain, Cassidy and others in legislative meeting; Cheryl Sanders and the
Hispanic men on split screen footage)
Sheriff WAYNE McELEVEEN (Calcasieu Parish): I think law enforcement, in all

honesty, has stepped on some big toes in the drug traffic is why they came and did
this.
LARSON: (Voiceover) And District Attorney Rick Bryant, of the same parish,
criticized DATELINE, saying it was Cheryl Sanders own fault that she wasn't
21 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
reimbursed the $ 4,000 that she spent trying to get her car back.
(Bryant in meeting; Cheryl Sanders getting into car)
Mr. BRYANT: She's never applied for that, or her attorney has never applied for...
LARSON: (Voiceover) In fact, Cheryl Sanders did ask.
(Tim Mesh speaking in meeting)
Mr. TIM MESH: Not only did I ask that they pay her attorney's fees, I asked in
writing and I have a letter dated July 8th, 1996. Mr. Bryant's office wrote me
back the same day, July 8th, 1996, and said, No, we're not going to pay attorney's
fees.'
LARSON: (Voiceover) Bryant says it's up to Sanders to file an application with the
court. And the Hispanic laborers who say they spent more than $ 5,000 in their
legal battle haven't been reimbursed either. They're suing police for their fees.
And the district attorney continues to insist that the men and Sanders really are
drug traffickers, even though they have no criminal record and so far he's offered
no proof. And despite their innocence, none of the people in our story received an
apology. The governor of Louisiana, Mike Foster.
(Sanders sitting on sidewalk, looking through paperwork; Hispanic men walking

through field; Bryant; Hispanic men; Sanders walking; Governor Foster)
Governor MIKE FOSTER: The one thing your program did was to up the consciousness
of the possibility of problems in this area. What we're trying...
LARSON: Our story wasn't about the possibility of problems.
Gov. FOSTER: I understand that.
LARSON: Our story was about real problems.
Gov. FOSTER: Yeah, all right. But they're--what they're really concerned over is
the possibility of more problems in the future.
LARSON: (Voiceover) In May, as a direct result of the DATELINE Investigation, the

Louisiana legislature passed and the governor signed reforms to the forfeiture
law. In response to our story about Karen Bryant, the woman on her way home to
Texas from a church convention, the new law prohibits police from using unmarked
cars, and officers must be in uniform. In response to cases like the Hispanic
laborers, whose savings were hidden in their shoes and then seized by police, the
new law does not require accused motorists to post the bond just to go to court.
And perhaps the most significant change is that the burden of proof has been
shifted from the accused to the state. So now, in cases like that of Cheryl
Sanders, police will need even more solid evidence or must return seized property
within 72 hours.
(Legislators in session; governor signing bill; Ms. Bryant on porch swing; police
light bar; police officer; Hispanic men; jail door; graphic of words "No Court
22 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
Bond"; Sanders riding bicycle; Sanders' car)
LARSON: You're saying to law enforcement, Either prove your case or give it up.'
Gov. FOSTER: That's correct, and I think that's the way it should be.
LARSON: (Voiceover) But what about the money seized from motorists off the
interstate and split 60 percent to the police, 20 percent to the district
attorney's office and 20 percent to a judicial fund?
(Seized dollar amounts on computer screen)
Gov. FOSTER: The split is going to be the same, but I don't think that will have
an effect one way or the other.
LARSON: Didn't get rid of that?
Gov. FOSTER: No.
LARSON: You don't think it makes a whole lot of difference whether or not the
judge is getting a 20 percent cut out of the cases that he decides?
Gov. FOSTER: Well, unfortunately or fortunately, in this country, we have to

assume that we have an honest judiciary, so I don't see anything wrong with that.
LARSON: Governor, if you had to go into court in another state and the judge
deciding your case got 20 percent of what he decided, that wouldn't make you
uncomfortable?
Gov. FOSTER: No, no more than law enforcement having the ability to use that money
up.
Mr. MESH: Window dressing, window dressing, window dressing.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Tim Mesh is Cheryl Sanders' lawyer. He predicts that, despite
the reforms, police will continue to abuse the law.
(Mesh; dollar amounts on computer screen)
Mr. MESH: The money stays the same, and that's really all they cared about. It's
always been what they cared about. And they're like drug addicts: once they start
getting it, you can't cut them off.
LARSON: (Voiceover) And Mesh says that's not surprising because the governor asked
the very people who profit from the old law--the district attorney and sheriffs'
associations--to help investigate the problem and write the new law.
(Police officer shining flashlight on trunk of car stopped on interstate)
LARSON: Isn't that a little bit like announcing you want to investigate the hen
house and appointing two foxes to do it?
23 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
Gov. FOSTER: No, not really, because facts are facts.
LARSON: I mean, where's the independent, third-party investigation?
Gov. FOSTER: You get back to whether you have any--any trust in the integrity of
the law enforcement and the judicial system of the state. I do.
LARSON: But a new story discovered by DATELINE--one that came to light in the wake
of our report--raises fears that with big money at stake, the new reforms may not
go far enough. It's a case where police are now accused of crimes and are still on
the job.
(Voiceover) It happened in Scott, Louisiana, where the police motto is, "So None
Shall Live In Fear." On April 18th, 1996, Scott police stopped this out of state
Lincoln Towncar. They seized more than $ 55,000 in cash and arrested three
Vietnamese men.
(Police motto shown painted on police car; black Lincoln Towncar; cash on table;
Vietnamese man in handcuffs in police station)
Unidentified Man #5: ...(Unintelligible)...
LARSON: (Voiceover) Police Chief Jerry Carpenter showed them off before the local
media and charged them with being drug traffickers.
(Carpenter; Vietnamese men)
Police Chief JERRY CARPENTER: These oriental males have been arrested. A large
amount of cash and drugs have been confiscated by the Scott Police Department, and
the investigation is continuing at this time.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Attorney Frank Dockens represents the Vietnamese men.
(Dockens sitting at desk)
Mr. FRANK DOCKENS: My clients informed me that the police were laughing and joking
about the money, tossing packets of money to each other.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Dockens argued the men were really fishermen, on their way to
Alabama to buy this new shrimp boat. The $ 55,000: the down payment, a lifetime of
savings. The men had bank receipts and a contract to buy the boat with them in the
car. Out on the highway, police searched the car for more than an hour and a half.
They found the money, but no drugs. Nonetheless, police took the men to the police
station, where Chief Carpenter himself, according to law enforcement sources,
conducted a second search with a very different result. The chief says he found
this cocaine in the trunk and this marijuana in the seat.
(Oriental man behind steering wheel in boat; shrimp boat; cash; Vietnamese man on
deck of boat; Black Lincoln Towncar with doors open; man in handcuffs; Scott
Police Department office door; Carpenter; cocaine and marijuana)
LARSON: But according to the local district attorney, what the police chief didn't
24 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
realize was that when he made that last search back here at the Scott Police
Station, there was another police car parked directly behind the Lincoln...
(Voiceover) ...and that squad car's on-board video camera had been left on, and
the videotape was rolling. Police officers later testified they saw Chief
Carpenter, on the videotape, plant the drugs in the car. As for the alleged
cocaine, it turned out to be harmless white powder, which later, somehow,
disappeared from the police evidence room. As for the videotape, it was
mysteriously erased.
(Video camera in police car; Carpenter; bags of so-called drugs; camera in police
car)
Mr. DOCKENS: There's no doubt in my mind they were framed.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Police Chief Jerry Carpenter was charged in April with
planting the white powder and tampering with evidence. He is pleading not guilty
and is awaiting criminal trial, but he is still on the job. Officer Daryl Brussard
was charged with erasing the tape and tampering with the so-called cocaine. He is
pleading not guilty, but is still on the job, working in the police evidence room.
And Officer Byron Romero was charged with planting the marijuana. He too is
pleading not guilty but is still on the job as a Scott police officer.
(Carpenter walking; Brussard smoking cigarette; Romero walking)
LARSON: I--I--I'm John Larson. I work for NBC News.
(Voiceover) All refused our repeated requests for an interview.
(Larson shaking Romero's hand)
LARSON: Is it true you guys planted drugs in a car...
Officer ROMERO: I'm not commenting on that. Contact my attorney.
LARSON: ...in order to confiscate money inside a car? Did it happen?
Officer ROMERO: Speak to my attorney.
LARSON: Why is it that the evidence disappeared?
Officer ROMERO: Speak to my attorney.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Is it just one small police department, a few rogue officers
that are the problem? Or is it the law itself? A law that can make good cops bad?
Those questions remain.
(Brussard; police officers searching car pulled over on interstate)
LARSON: Why should people feel safe that it's not going to happen again, when the
police chief down the road who's been indicted for planting drugs is still on the
job? When none of the people in our story have either gotten an official apology
25 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
or reimbursed for their court expenses? When the money is still the same, why
should people believe that the problem's been fixed?
Gov. FOSTER: I can simply tell you that the specifics to the problem, as I know
them, have been addressed. But I'll tell you right up front, I would encourage
anybody that thinks they've been--they've been abused in Louisiana, to call my
office directly. I'll investigate.
PAULEY: Those three Vietnamese men we told you about spent $ 22,000 trying to
clear their names. To date, they have not been reimbursed by the state. We told
them what the government told us and gave them his number. But if you have a
complaint for the governor...
(Voiceover) ...his office says you can call the State Commission on Law
Enforcement at (504) 922-1578.
(Phone number for State Commission on Law Enforcement)
(Announcements)
PHILLIPS: Now, let's take a look at some of the stories we're working on for
DATELINE Sunday.
(Voiceover) It's sheer agony--the rash that comes from little green plants like
this: poison ivy, oak and sumac. What do you really know about it? And what can
you do to fight it off?
(Dateline Sunday graphic; poison ivy, oak and sumac plants; woman walking on
trail)
Dr. BOB ARNOT reporting: Over-the-counter cortisone?
Unidentified Man #6: No.
ARNOT: Oral antihistamine?
Man #6: Definitely.
PHILLIPS: (Voiceover) What works, and is there any way to prevent it. Dr. Bob
Arnot has the latest in our DATELINE Healthline.
Also, it started as the plot of a Hollywood film. Could an entire town quit
smoking? Then, this town decided to try it for real.
(Medicines; trees and plants; Arnot; medications; Healthline graphic; excerpts

from movie; sticker that reads, "I've Gone Cold Turkey with Greenfield"; burning
torch; huge pile of cartons of cigarettes burning)
Unidentified Man #7: If the flesh wasn't so weak, I'd still be cold turkey today.
PHILLIPS: (Voiceover) What the town didn't know was that someone was secretly
watching. That someone was a tobacco company.
26 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM
(Man walking down street; ashtray; cigarette package on ground)
DAWN FRATANGELO reporting: What was the industry and--and specifically Philip
Morris researching? What were they trying to find out?
PHILLIPS: Those stories on DATELINE Sunday.
And that's DATELINE for this Friday. We'll see you again for DATELINE Sunday at 7,
6 Central.
I'm Stone Phillips, and for all of us at NBC News, goodnight.
LOAD-DATE: August 25, 1997
LANGUAGE: English
TYPE: Profile
Copyright 1997 National Broadcasting Co. Inc.
27 of 27 7/8/11 7:40 PM

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NBC News Transcripts

August 22, 1997, Friday 10:31 AM

SHOW: DATELINE NBC (9:00 PM ET)

PROBABLE CAUSE?; POLICE IN LOUISIANA HARRASS MOTORISTS AND

BYLINE: DAWN FRATANGELO

LENGTH: 9220 words

Unidentified Dateline Producer: (Voiceover) Is he pulling you over?

(Car approaching from point of view of rear window of moving car)

Unidentified Dateline Cameraman: Yeah, he's pulling me over.

(Car pulling over)

Unidentified Policeman #1: How're you doing, sir?

Dateline Cameraman: How're you doing?

Policeman #1: You getting tired?

Dateline Cameraman: Yeah. I feel OK.

Policeman #1: Yeah?

(Policeman and driver; policeman)

(All the people raise their hands)

(All the people raise their hands)

LARSON: (Voiceover) Louisiana, one of the nation's favorite tourist destinations

Unidentified Woman #1: He was an angry bully.

LARSON: (Voiceover) What's going on here? Police say Louisiana's Interstate 10 is

(Group of people; Interstate 10 sign; traffic; police searching cars; motorist

LARSON: But a five-month DATELINE investigation here in Louisiana found that it

(Traffic at night; car at side of road; jail)

(Photo of Cheryl's car)

LARSON: It's innocent until proven guilty?

LARSON: They don't have to prove anything?

(White car; photo of small space in trunk of car)

Ms. SANDERS: I've never been in trouble in my life.

(Small space in trunk of car; police report; tape player)

Unidentified Policeman #2: (From courtroom tape) No, sir, I didn't.

Policeman #2: (From tape) Right.

Policeman #2: (From tape) That is correct.

LARSON: (Voiceover) This Louisiana law enforcement officer, afraid of reprisals,

cops into bounty hunters.

(Group of people; individual people)

(Car being rigged with cameras; Florida license plates; traffic)

(Cruise control; car driving; car parked in the median)

Dateline Producer: Here comes the sheriff.

(White car making its way through traffic)

Woman #2: I was not speeding.

Man #1: I don't believe I did anything wrong.

Unidentified Man #3: I wasn't speeding at all.

Unidentified Woman #3: I don't think I was speeding.

Unidentified Man #4: He said I was speeding.

Unidentified Woman #4: I wasn't changing lanes. I wasn't speeding.

Dateline Producer: Well, here we go.

(Policeman getting out of his car)

Unidentified Policeman #4: How you doing?

Dateline Producer: Good, what's the problem?

Policeman #4: You wide awake or what?

Dateline Producer: Totally.

Policeman #4: See your license?

(Policeman and Dateline producer)

Policeman #4: Where you all coming from?

Dateline Producer: We were in Lake Charles.

(Policeman with Dateline producer; policeman going to car)

Policeman #4: How you doing?

Dateline Cameraman: Good. How're you?

Policeman #4: Can I see the rental contract?

Dateline Producer: Cruise control is now set at 64 miles per hour.

LARSON: (Voiceover) It happens again.

(Policeman signalling with lights to pull over)