Indeed, the article is biased and does reek of agenda. It is biased against the idea of local police departments and prosecutors offices using the law to enrich

Indeed, the article is biased and does reek of agenda. It is biased against the idea of local police departments and prosecutors offices using the law to enrich themselves at the expense of those who can least afford it. Nothing wrong with that agenda. One could certainly give the benefit of the doubt to the police in any particular case where there's a large amount of cash drug paraphenelia involved. However, when this happens to a large number of people (who are never charged but their assets are seized) it's pretty clear what's going on. In any case, the class action lawsuit was settled in the plaintiffs' favor so clearly, the police department must have recognized that they would lose (especially when the state declined to defend them).