Our friends at the Institute for Justice and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report on the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office using asset forfeiture funds to purchase “Disney’s Approach to Business Excellence” training (from the Disney Institute) and to purchase high performance metal detectors to scan employees for weapons and recording devices prior to meetings with the Sheriff:

His sheriff’s office spent $11,400 on workout equipment for command staff, $77,000 on a mounted horse patrol, $8,200 on nine flat-screen TVs, and bought two Segways for $14,500, to name just a few of the big ticket items. Clarke also purchased two “high performance metal detectors” to “screen employees for weapons, cell phones, recording devices, etc. prior to meeting with the Sheriff for disciplinary reasons.”

But perhaps the most surreal purchase is on page 12 of the audit:

“January 2011—Training for more than 50 participants, conducted on location at the Correctional Center—South, at a cost of $24,900 paid to Disney Destinations, LLC. The training was on Disney’s Approach to Business Excellence.”

Even more incredibly, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, “None of the spending violated federal rules governing asset forfeiture money, but it did run afoul of county procurement rules.”