A Behind-The Scenes Look At The Sacramento Sheriff's Department's Military Surplus Acquisitions
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Police agencies across the country are getting millions of dollars worth of free equipment from the United States military, and it's possible for the public to get some of it, too.
They are the tools used to back up fire crews, to raid illegal marijuana grows, to patrol our waterways and fly over our neighborhoods searching for bad guys.
They are the tools that wouldn't exist in large part if it wasn't for the U.S. military.
The details of every item that's gone out through the Department of Defense Excess Property Program, known as 1033, is catalogued in a massive stack of records just to California agencies alone.
RELATED: How To Get Your Hands On Military Surplus Equipment At Auction
A few things wouldn't surprise you, like weapons, and armored vehicles.
But other things given by the military—including chain saws, kneepads and gardening equipment—might make you wonder why in the world would they need it.
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department gave CBS13 behind-the-scenes access to some of the more interesting items it has received from the military.
The first stop could double as a last stop—a portable morgue valued at $55,000. The sheriff's department uses it as a storage facility to temperature-sensitive training equipment.
Sgt. Jim Schaeffers helps run the military surplus program for the department. he says they love anything they can use to store things.
The sheriff's department has also turned a one-time portable laundry unit worth close to $100,000 into a storage unit.
When you see all of the things the department gets from the military, it's clear why they need all the storage space.
The department has 542 sets of goggles, several vehicles that look like they were driven off the set of M*A*S*H, and another vehicle used to haul equipment.
The key in deciding which items to go after comes down to two simple questions for the sergeant.
"What allows us to do more? and what allows us to provide a better level of service," he said.
That could mean anything from first-aid kits to inspection mirrors to binoculars to face shields, to tools and laptops, even boats and an entire workout gym.
The department gets a new list of items to choose from every single day.
The man who runs the sheriff's activity league says his job would be a whole lot tougher without dozens of softballs, soccer balls, chin guards, hockey gloves and basketballs.
"We have to reach out to the community," he said. "We can't just go around arresting people. I use sports as an avenue to engage the community, the youth to mentor them, to provide them with opportunities."
The opportunity to take part in the program can be taken away if proper records aren't kept, so an annual inventory has to account for each item received.
They are allowed to return items that are either outdated or no longer have use for.
Agencies can also send them to auction for the public to get their hands on.
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