Pinal Co., Ariz., Sheriff's Office stockpiles, sells millions in military equipment

[Newsjock]

Source: Arizona Republic

The Pinal County Sheriff's Office has collected millions of dollars' worth of surplus military equipment that is intended for law-enforcement use and distributed some of the gear to non-police agencies while preparing to sell other property as a budget booster. Both practices are banned by the Pentagon.

According to records obtained by The Arizona Republic, in the past two years, Sheriff Paul Babeu's office has received more than $7 million worth of Humvees, fire trucks, guns, defibrillators, barber chairs, underwear, thermal-imaging scopes, computers, motor scooters and other items through the Defense Logistics Agency, which provides the excess military property free to crime-fighting agencies.

... But internal e-mails obtained through public-records requests by The Republic show sheriff's officials touting their ability to get products from the Defense Department at no cost and to fortify their finances by selling the goods at auction. In a budget presentation to Pinal County supervisors in March, Babeu said he intends to balance his budget in part by auctioning equipment procured from the military.

Sheriff's e-mails also show that a top aide to Babeu encouraged employees from Southwest Ambulance, a private company, to visit the Sheriff's Office to see "how much stuff is available" from the Defense Department. A subsequent message contained a photograph of Babeu standing behind a pair of defibrillators the company received free from the Sheriff's Office, shaking hands with a Southwest manager.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/pinal/articles/2012/05/04/20120504pinal-county-surplus-military-equipment.html

[LiberalFighter]

1. I wonder where else this is happening. Especially in Arizona.

All of them need to go to prison.

They really need to reduce the type of military equipment made available to civilian leos.

[Ikonoklast]

2. That equipment is still DoD property, local political subdivisions are not allowed to re-sell it.

It is a Federal crime to do so.

[Comrade Grumpy]

3. Just a small part of the billion dollar border boondoggle.

These GOP cops get all this assistance from Washington and then scream about how Washington isn't helping them.

There's one county in Texas, among the poorest in the country, where there are two vehicles for every sheriff's deputy.

Now, we've got a militarized border and all these goons running around with their toys.

But this is over the line, even by border law enforcement standards. How long can Sheriff Beefcake remain in office?