Duluth to use drug funds to purchase police vehicle, equipment

Duluth will use drug forfeiture funds to purchase a police vehicle, equipment and training. (Courtesy City of Duluth)

Duluth will use drug forfeiture funds to purchase a police vehicle, equipment and training. (Courtesy City of Duluth)

The Duluth Police Department recently received $147,399 in federal drug forfeiture funds from the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency. The funds were received as the result of distributions from four cases after the seizure of cash and/or assets by the police agencies involved.

Due to the uncertainty involving the settling of these cases and the amount of money to be received, no provision was made in the city’s budget for the expenditure of the funds. At their most recent council meeting Duluth officials voted to add the funds to the FY20 budget to be used to purchase a specialized police vehicle for Town Green, tactical equipment, police software and out-of-state training.