Colorado law-enforcement agencies on tight budgets have received freebies including rifles and Humvees from a military program that sheds surplus supplies.
Eighteen agencies in Colorado received 749 items for fiscal 2005 under the Defense Department program, with items valued at $821,125.34, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.
California was among top recipients, receiving $17 million worth of equipment.
In Colorado, the Lincoln County sheriff’s department got a couple of used desktop computers and laptops, Sheriff Tom Nestor said. The desktop computers didn’t work, but the laptops are used in patrol cars, he said.
The department got the computers at no cost, though sheriff’s officials did have to go pick them up from Fort Carson.
“They’re pretty old supplies, but they help out the smaller agencies quite a bit,” Nestor said. “Since the war started, there’s not many surplus supplies.” He didn’t try to guess what it cost to get computers any other way.
“The only way we could possibly get it is try to budget, and everybody can tell you budgets are pretty tight,” Nestor said.
Colorado Springs police received 635 ballistic helmets worth $94,569 and 140 rifles worth an estimated $140,000 in calendar year 2006, said Sam Azad, fiscal and planning manager for police. The police department paid for shipping, which Azad estimated at less than $5,000.
“It’s a major cost savings for our department. Otherwise we have to go and purchase all this equipment,” Azad said.
Close to 90 percent of the police department’s $85 million budget goes toward salaries and benefits, leaving little left over for equipment, Azad said. Even equipment that the military has used and is ready to throw out is suitable for law enforcement officers, he said.
The department is checking whether any items for homeland security are available, such as cots and sleeping bags, in case officers have to stay on the job for weeks at a time in an emergency, Azad said.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office received an undisclosed number of rifles. Sheriff’s officials adjusted them to make them suitable for patrol but otherwise had no cost, Deputy Cocha Heyden said.
The De Beque Marshal Department received a boat, though Town Marshal Gary Foss said he wasn’t sure why. He said the boat, which was claimed before he became marshal, is idle because it is not the right type for use in the Colorado River. He had no immediate plans for it.
However, the town has two vehicles from the program that it uses to fight wildfires, he said. “It’s a great deal for all of us,” Foss said.
Foss formerly worked with the Clifton volunteer department, which he said got a military Humvee from the program. Firefighters removed the gun turret and converted the vehicle into a brush truck.
“We were able to put a brush truck together for $20,000 when we couldn’t even touch one for $100,000,” Foss said.
