The owner of a Texas smoke shop was awarded a settlement of $80,000 from the Garza County Sheriff’s Office and the city of Post following an “illegal” raid in February that seized more than $20,000 worth of legal hemp products.
Texas Smoke Shop Wins $80k Settlement After Police Raid
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The Garza County Sheriff’s Office and the city of Post have agreed to pay $80,000 in settlements to a Texas smoke shop following an “illegal” raid on the location in February, Lonestar Live reports.
Per the settlement, the sheriff’s office and the city agreed to pay $40,000 each to Abdula Alshaif, owner of the Post-based smoke shop Smoke Scene. Additionally, police took more than $20,000 worth of hemp products during the “unreasonable search and seizure” and were required to return all of the seized products.
In making the settlement, the Garza County Sheriff’s Office and the city of Post did not admit responsibility, liability, or fault in the case; rather, they sought the compromise to avoid “the uncertainties of litigation,” the report said.
Attorney David Sergi, who represented Alshaif in the case, said the raid was “another example of overzealous action by local governments and law enforcement agencies.” Sergi is also representing other smoke shop owners with a similar lawsuit against Allen, Texas after police carried out raids against nine hemp shops there in August.
“We will continue to aggressively fight to protect the rights of hemp store owners, many of them minority businesspeople, so they can continue to supply needed hemp products to many of our neighbors here in Texas.” — Sergi, via Lonestar Live
Cannabis remains heavily restricted in Texas but hemp-derived products containing less than 0.3% delta-9 THC are legal under state and federal law.
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