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The Washington County Sheriff’s Office plans to use privately donated funds to purchase night vision gear and a drone.
The donation was explained by Washington County Sheriff’ Martin Schulteis during the Feb. 1 Public Safety Committee. Schulteis said the Badger State Sheriff’s Association received a donation from an anonymous donor that wanted to donate funds to every sheriff’s office in the state. The donor wants the donation to be use toward public safety gear that was designed for critical incidents or immediate safety threat situations. The Badger State Sheriff’s Association is not a non-profit organization, so it teamed up with the Law Enforcement Foundation of Barron County to distribute the money.
“I’ll be very honest, I looked at the wants versus needs type of thing, this was an opportunity to get the want versus maybe the need. This is supposed to be stuff that’s not budgeted for, that’s extra,” Schulteis said.
He explained that the department doesn’t have night vision capabilities for deputies. He said that puts deputies at a disadvantage during searches as night. With the donation, the Sheriff’s Office started testing night vision equipment.
“It is absolutely amazing technology,” Schulteis said, adding that a portion of the $22,700 private donation went toward the night vision gear. The department also purchased another drone, which is an effective tool for locating people and mapping. He added that with drones, the amount of time keeping roads shut down during an accident investigation is reduced.
Schulteis said the donor wanted the funds spent quickly. As a result, the drone has already been purchase while some of the night vision equipment has arrived. He later added the night vision gear will be leased instead of purchasing outright because it would allow the department to get new equipment in the future.
“We didn’t spend tax dollars to accomplish that. It’s to enhance the safety of our personnel and capabilities,” Schulteis said.
