Originally Posted by Frosstbyte

This falls into that realm of "creative punishment." My gut reaction is that it's a shitty way for the police department to get something that they have no business having just because they could confiscate it from this guy. Should the guy be driving? Hell fucking no. Take his license, put him in jail, put his car in the garage, whatever. Don't parade it around like the spoils of war.

Just a few notes, the police officers knew they were doing something kind of lame and they're definitely playing with their new toy:

"When Marzetta dropped the man off at the county jail, he "thanked" him for the car."

and

"Marzetta drove the car -- a sleek, 450-horsepower billboard for the police department -- for the first time Thursday.

As he pulled out of the lot, he paused to rev the engine several times."

Basically now the police have something cool to joyride in instead of this guy joyriding in it. I don't really see why the police need this or why it serves any purpose in the DARE program (I'll save my feelings about the program itself for another place). The police are not here to plunder. They're here to protect and serve the community. Seizing assets and selling them is one thing. Confiscating someone's property for public use like that stinks.