LAW OFFICERS PUT SEIZED ASSETS TO WORK FOR THEM

Tippecanoe County sheriff's deputy Jon Lendermon and his new dog,
Marco, have been on dozens of calls since the Dutch shepherd joined
the force in mid-October.

Marco, trained in narcotics detection, tracking and apprehension, has
been made available to the Lafayette and West Lafayette police
departments and even to help search for a robbery suspect in Fountain
County.

"We've now got a bomb dog and four other canines," Lendermon said of
the sheriff's department. "That makes one of us available 24/7."

Marco was purchased by the Tippecanoe County prosecutor's office
through its asset forfeiture program, which seizes money and property
from people arrested with drugs. The funds are used for
crime-fighting efforts.

About $50,000 has been brought in this year under prosecutor Pat
Harrington, who took office in January.

"When I took office, I wanted asset forfeiture to be a priority," he
said. "The goal was to ramp up the revenue from that source. We've
brought in an average of $1,000 a week. That exceeded my
expectations."

Harrington said state law allows the prosecutor's office to file a
civil complaint against anyone arrested with narcotics to seize cash
the criminals have on them or vehicles they are driving. Prosecutors
also may seize any property, such as electronics, that the criminals
say they purchased with drug proceeds.

Otherwise, the money would be returned to the offenders, he said. Any
money seized must go toward purchasing equipment or paying for
training for law enforcement.

"Why should we let drug dealers benefit from their illegal activity?"
Harrington said. "Through this, we can relieve some of the burden on
taxpayers. Every penny helps."

As Harrington's chief deputy prosecutor, one of Kristen McVey's main
duties is to review cases in which assets may be seized. She's
instructed to go after cash amounts big and small.

McVey said this requires strong communication with the county's law
enforcement agencies because filings must be made within six months.

Earlier this year, Harrington said he asked each police department
head for wish list-items their agencies needed.

The sheriff's department asked for another dog, which was purchased
in August. Harrington also recently bought a dog for the Purdue
University Police Department. Each cost $10,900.

About $6,300 was used in March and April to buy GPS tracking devices
for the state police and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources
for use in their vehicles.

The Lafayette Police Department received 13 Taser guns, which cost
about $14,000. Officers recently went through training on how to
properly handle the devices, which use an electric impulse that can
leave a suspect motionless for several seconds.

"It's a valuable tool in our use of force continuum," Lafayette Chief
Don Roush said. "We would eventually have had to use dollars from
other accounts over a great length of time. We definitely would not
have been able to purchase them as quickly."

Tippecanoe County Sheriff Tracy Brown said the new dog has benefited
his agency by allowing Lendermon and Marco to work during the day and
assist on those calls. Typically, canine teams worked nights.

"In the day of shrinking budgets, we're limited in what we can buy,"
Brown said. "This funding came as a very good time for us. Even
better is that the source of that money is generated as revenue from
drug arrests."