The Associated Press
ERWIN, Tenn. (AP) -- The Unicoi County Sheriff’s Department has received five all-terrain vehicles to help conduct rescues in the mountains and search for illegal drugs.
The department received the ATVs free from the U.S. Army through a state program that matches local law enforcement’s special needs with surplus military equipment.
Jim Smithson and Brenda Grant, directors of property utilization at the state Law Enforcement Support Office based in Nashville, helped Unicoi officials obtain the five ATVs from Fort Bragg, N.C.
“Unicoi County was interested in obtaining ATVs to get into the backwoods areas,” Smithson said. “The only cost to them other than the subscriber fee was going there to pick them up.”
Sheriff Kent Harris said his office paid $400 in subscriber fees to get the five ATVs that appear to be only two or three years old. The fee is based on how many officers are each department.
Other types of available equipment include weaponry, armored personnel carriers, body armor and even things like filing cabinets.