An Oklahoma deputy seized nearly $150,000 from a professional hip-hop musician over a lane change violation.
Harvey Miller, a musician known as DJ Speedy who has worked with Beyoncé and Jay-Z, was driving from Atlanta to Los Angeles when an Oklahoma County sheriff’s deputy stopped him on Interstate 40 for failing to signal a turn a full 100 feet before changing lanes, reported KOCO-TV.
“I was racially profiled, plain as day — no way around it,” said the 42-year-old DJ and producer. “He went in with the questions of, ‘Where are you going? What’s in your car?’”
The deputy was suspicious of Miller’s story, according to an arrest affidavit.
“Then, he asked me can he search my vehicle,” Miller told the TV station. “No, you can’t search my vehicle. What warrants you to search my vehicle?”
The deputy called for a K-9 unit, and the dog alerted authorities to possible illegal drugs in the car, but investigators found none.
However, deputies found more than $149,000 in cash, which they seized after claiming Miller’s vehicle smelled like cannabis.
“I’ve never used drugs, I’m not drinking, I wasn’t speeding — I wasn’t doing nothing,” Miller said. “You have nothing on my except I have money. I’m black and I have money.”
Miller was arrested on suspicion of possession of drug proceeds and possession of a forged counterfeit note after a fake $20 bill was found, and he was released after 12 hours in jail.
The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office denied the racial profiling allegations, saying the vast majority of drivers they pull over are white.
“The numbers we see are in line with the makeup of the population of Oklahoma County,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Miller, who has homes in both Atlanta and Los Angeles, has not been formally charged in the case, but he wants his money back and his clear record restored.
“I want to be exonerated from all this,” Miller said.