I repeat: Asset Forfeiture is theft under color of law

Under federal rules, transferred funds from the equitable sharing program cannot be used to pay the salaries and benefits of any law enforcement personnel. The guidelines state that the rule was made to ensure that the funds do not “influence, or appear to influence, law enforcement decisions.”

The transferred funds can be used in limited cases to pay for overtime, or an officer replacing current law enforcement personnel. The funds cannot be used to pay an officer’s full-time salary.

The auditors found $313,052 of the $378,720 transferred to other law enforcement agencies in the Pro-Active Criminal Enforcement (PACE) team was questionable.
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The auditors found that the Henry County Sheriff’s Office used $178,328 of the transferred funds to pay for the salary and fringe benefit costs of a deputy assigned to the PACE team, with at least $40,875 considered to be unallowable.

They found the Greenfield Police Department did not have a separate accounting code for the transferred funds, so auditors were unable to see if the funds were being properly used.

They also found the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office used $91,562 of the transferred funds to pay for personnel costs and equipment, with at least $5,200 considered to be unallowable.

And, the audit found the Richmond Police Department used $125,819 in transferred funds to pay for the salary of an officer assigned to the PACE team, including $4,387 in overtime costs, but the auditors could not verify if the officer was ever hired by the department. They are questioning the remaining $121,432 as unallowable because the department did not comply with the laws on using equitable sharing funds for salary costs.
Thieves, hiding behind badges.