Skip To Content
    This post has not been vetted or endorsed by BuzzFeed's editorial staff. BuzzFeed Community is a place where anyone can create a post or quiz. Try making your own!

    The 14 Most Ridiculous Things Police Bought With Asset Forfeiture

    Policing for profit = YOLO for cops.

    Under civil asset forfeiture, police can seize property suspected of involvement in criminal activity. Unlike criminal asset forfeiture, with civil forfeiture, people don't have to be convicted—or even charged--with a crime to permanently lose their cars, homes, or cash.

    Even worse, in many cases, police get to keep what they seize through asset forfeiture. As long as cops get to keep what they seize, civil asset forfeiture will keep on spawning scandals.

    So law enforcement has a strong incentive to pad their budgets and buy ridiculous things like:

    14. $10,000 worth of Gatorade

    13. A Zamboni

    12. Segways

    11. "Disney Training"

    Those Milwaukee County sheriffs also splurged on “customer service training” from the Disney Institute. Using almost $25,000 in forfeiture funds, police attended ”Disney’s Approach to Business Excellence,” learning both “thinking ‘inside’ the box” as well as “thinking ‘outside’ the box.”

    As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points out, ”None of the spending violated federal rules governing asset forfeiture money, but it did run afoul of county procurement rules.”

    10. Flying First-Class and Renting Cadillacs

    9. Banquets and Beach Parties

    8. Tequila, Kegs, and a Margarita Machine

    7. Tanning Salon

    6. Trips to Casinos

    5. Hawaiian Vacation

    4. Bribing Cops

    3. A Dodge Viper

    2. Paying Convicts to Build a “Party House”

    1. Marijuana and Prostitutes