POLICE WHO DON'T GIVE A DAMN

Keith Spence wants his Cadillac back. Spence claims he was falsely accused of stealing his own car after he was stopped by police, who sold the vehicle at auction before he could appear in court to clear his name. "I tried to tell them it was my car, but they wouldn't listen," the Baltimore man said.

Police spokesman Matt Jablow said the department is investigating the incident. "We're looking into the circumstances surrounding why the car was sold," Jablow said.

Spence, 28, said police pulled him over in February because the 1993 red Cadillac Eldorado coupe had a cracked rear window. Spence said he and his two passengers were then dragged from the car and arrested by four officers who said the car was stolen. "I was listening to the radio from the back seat of the police car. It said a gray Cadillac sedan was stolen; mine is a red coupe. I guess the officer must have been color blind," Spence told The Baltimore Examiner.

In June, Spence represented himself in court, providing the title and the testimony of the car's previous owner. By then it was too late, however; the car had been sold at auction two months earlier. "I owned the car - I knew it wasn't stolen," he said.

Spence's attorney, Roland Brown, said he is preparing to sue the city. "Not only did the police violate my client's constitutional rights by selling his car before the trial, but the case demonstrates that young black males in this city are blindly targeted by the Baltimore City police," Brown said. The case also raises questions about why a vehicle thought to be stolen would be sold instead of returned to its owner.

Spence said all he wants is the Cadillac he bought with a tax refund. "I loved that car."

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