City of Dallas steals $2,000 from child
Rob Beschizza at 6:32 AM Thursday, May 12, 2011
In February, teenager Ashley Donaldson found $2,000 in an envelope in a Dallas shopping center. She did the right thing, turning it in to the city: after three months, they promised it would become hers should they not find the original owner. However, the city decided to confiscate it when the time came.
On Tuesday, police said under a new city policy, the unclaimed money will go into Dallas' general fund -- not back to the person who found it, as in years past. "We appreciate your honesty," said Dallas police spokesman Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse. "We're going to put the money to good use. It's not going to be wasted, but put to good use for the City of Dallas."
Enjoy watching Janse blink and sweat nervously through that canned statement of his atWFAA's news segment.
Ashley's father told reporters that it "wasn't the lesson her parents wanted her to learn." As the 5-child family reportedly lived in a one-bedroom apartment at the time, it's one she won't soon forget.
Update: The police in Dallas acknowledge now that a provision in state law means the money will be returned to Ashley after the waiting period is finally up.
