Prosecutor asks to spend $502,000 in seized drug-case money on police vehicles and gear
Who it touches: Terre Haute Police Department's operations, funded here through seized-asset money rather than general tax dollars.
A representative of the prosecutor's office asked the council to appropriate $502,000 that had come into the office's seized-asset account from recent drug-case forfeitures, split as $250,000 for vehicles, $52,000 for a three-year online investigative-leads service used by Terre Haute Police Department, and $200,000 for equipment ranging from firearms to protective and tactical gear, with several hundred thousand dollars more from another forfeiture expected later this year.
The council's presiding officer said they would abstain from voting on this item because there was a chance the money could end up spent at a business they own.
Sources
- $502,000 forfeiture appropriation explained0:52:29 (52 minutes 29 seconds)
- Spending breakdown0:53:35 (53 minutes 35 seconds)
- Presiding officer flags conflict, plans to abstain0:54:54 (54 minutes 54 seconds)
Outcome
Presented for consideration; no vote taken tonight
Presented to the council for consideration; no vote was taken at this meeting.
This summary was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor against the recording and documents linked above. Nothing publishes without a resolvable source.