By Omer Gillham
Tulsa World (Oklahoma)
Copyright 2006 The Tulsa World
Night-vision goggles, listening devices and four-wheelers bought with Homeland Security funds are being used for routine duty without a monitoring system in place, a Tulsa World investigation has found. Police and fire departments are using the gear for parade control, grass fires, drug surveillance and traffic-accident reports. The equipment use is allowable but lacks any oversight on whether the gear is being abused or kept in working order for homeland security purposes, said Kerry Pettingill, director of the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security.
While the equipment appears to have improved public safety, the state lacks a monitoring program. Some equipment has been misused or not kept in proper working order, the World investigation shows.
Pettingill said his office lacks the manpower to monitor equipment use and upkeep.
"If I had to critique one area that is lacking in this office, it would be the monitoring of equipment of how it was bought and used," Pettingill said. "We lack enough staffing to do it. We need to move this to the front burner."
Pettingill's office has 10 full-time employees and one part-time worker, plus four state troopers assigned to the office by Department of Public Safety. The office budget is about $1 million annually.
Pettingill said he has asked federal officials for help in setting up an equipment monitoring plan.
The state did not appear to be checking on use of federally funded equipment until after the Tulsa World began calling police and fire departments and asking about its use. Pettingill said his office conducted a field visit to view equipment in three cities in April. The World began making calls in March.
Federal oversight on the condition and use of equipment bought with Homeland Security funds appears spotty as well. A recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office noted that billions had been spent on homeland security with little information on how the spending occurred.
Records show at least $187 billion has been allocated to the federal government for homeland security from fiscal year 2001 to 2005. Of that, about $10 billion went to state and local agencies through grants.
Between 2002 and 2006, Oklahoma has been awarded about $120 million in federal funds primarily for preparedness and emergency response.
The GAO report, issued in February, states: "What is remarkable about the whole area of emergency preparedness and homeland security is how little we know about how states and localities 1) finance their efforts in this area; 2) have used their federal funds, and; 3) are assessing the effectiveness with which they spend those funds."
The World has conducted an in-depth review of the way the state spends its Homeland Security funds. The World reviewed thousands of grant applications, progress reports and documents detailing equipment purchases, all on file at the state Office of Homeland Security.
Police and fire departments applying for the equipment expressed intentions to use it to prevent a terrorist attack, grant documents show. In rural communities such as Gooseneck Bend near Muskogee, that risk seems somewhat low, and departments are instead putting the equipment to more routine use.
John Vecchio, a volunteer firefighter at Gooseneck Bend, questions the need for some homeland security spending. Gooseneck Bend Volunteer Fire Department received $12,000 for breathing tanks and masks and hand-held radios.
"Don't get me wrong. We appreciate the equipment, but to spend all this money on equipment for chemical spills or railroad accidents by using homeland security as a rationale is wrong and unnecessary," Vecchio said.
"There has been a lot of unnecessary spending, in my opinion. There needs to be an evaluation," he added.
Pettingill said routine use of the equipment is acceptable under federal guidelines, yet the equipment needs to be monitored for proper use and upkeep.
Police and fire departments contacted by the Tulsa World regularly use four-wheel, all-terrain vehicles purchased with homeland security funds for routine duty. The ATVs range from $5,900 to $9,300 each.
Night-vision goggles and listening devices purchased with federal funds have given an edge to drug units seeking to bust dealers, several detectives said. Meanwhile, police are using laptops for routine traffic stops, arrest reports and electronic record searches, the World found.
The city of Lawton bought 21 Toughbook laptop computers for routine duty, costing $4,300 each, records show.
Oklahoma City bought 50 Toughbooks to serve as a communication link if the city's 911 system gets knocked offline, said Maj. Ralph Gibson, with the logistical support division for Oklahoma City police. Gibson said Oklahoma City paid about $3,500 for each computer using Homeland Security funds.
While routine use of the equipment is permissible, the gear must be kept in working order in case of a terrorist attack, accident, or natural disaster, Pettingill said.
"We prefer them to use a lot of the equipment because they need to know how to use it in case of an event," said Pettingill, a certified bomb technician and Highway Patrol veteran. "It is OK for daily use within the scope of the equipment purpose, but the equipment needs to be kept operational for its intended purpose as well."
In the months following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, federal funds were dedicated to combat weapons of mass destruction. After Hurricane Katrina, federal officials broadened some spending categories to include an all-hazard approach.
While some have questioned the scale of homeland security spending, police and fire departments now have upgraded equipment and communication. First-responders are using tools to improve rescue efforts at traffic accidents.
"Based on the tight city budget, we probably never could have gotten this equipment without Homeland (Security's) help," said Sgt. Andy Choate, of Bixby Police Department. Bixby has received about $147,700 in Homeland Security funds, Choate said. The funds include $70,000 in 2005 for infrastructure protection at city buildings, records show.
For patrol duty at the Bixby BBQ and Blues Festival in May, police used an all-terrain vehicle bought with Homeland Security funds, Choate said.
A survey of police and fire departments shows little anxiety for a terrorist event in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma remains under a "yellow" alert as part of a national alert system put in place after 9/11. Under a code yellow, citizens are urged to report suspicious activity they might observe, according to the state's Homeland Security Web page.
Agencies said they remain dedicated to a homeland protection mission while looking for ways to make use of the latest equipment dropped into their laps by the government.
On June 1, the Tulsa Fire Department used a $750,000 hazardous-materials rig to investigate an unclaimed piece of luggage that spilled out white powder, said Dennis Beyer, chief of homeland security for Tulsa Fire Department.
"Within about 15 seconds after we got the equipment set up and could do a test, we knew what the substance was," Beyer said. "It was nonfat dry baby formula. That's how quick and accurate this piece of equipment is."
Broken Arrow Police are making good use of a $9,500 bomb dog purchased with federal funds, officials said.
Hero, a 3-year-old German shepherd, has been used extensively to check bomb threats and calls at schools and other locations, said Scott Oelke, a K-9 officer working explosive detection for Broken Arrow Police.
"We have gone on at least 20 calls and Hero has done all that we have asked him to do," Oelke said.
Fire official reprimanded While many types of equipment can be used for general duty, federal guidelines prohibit the use of some items, such as vehicles, for such duty.
"And just a reminder, these types of vehicles cannot be used to provide transportation for VIPs or for general administrative use," states a Homeland Security memo dated Nov. 15, 2004.
One case involves a reprimand of a major in the Duncan Fire Department, records show.
Maj. Gary Curtis, now retired, was reportedly reprimanded July 6, 2005, for using a tow truck for an unauthorized call, said Duncan Fire Chief John Holden in a letter dated July 12, 2005, to the Homeland Security office. The Dodge pickup is reserved for pulling a small decontamination trailer, the letter states.
Holden's letter states Curtis allegedly took the truck to an automobile accident scene in violation of the truck's proper use.
Pettingill's office noted Holden's explanation of the event and also noticed that the words "fire chief" had been placed on the truck, which implied executive transportation by the chief.
"We have been told that the Duncan Fire Department tow vehicle has the words 'Fire Chief' marked on the side of vehicle, which at a minimum conveys the impression that this vehicle is being used for executive transportation," Pettingill wrote July 6, 2005, to Holden.
Holden, now retired, said he always used the vehicle for its intended purposes.
Curtis admitted being verbally reprimanded for driving the tow vehicle, but also said Holden used it to drive back and forth to work.
Holden said he did not use the truck for personal use.
Meanwhile, some Homeland Security equipment has not been kept in working order as required. A small decontamination trailer issued to Bixby Fire Department was out of service for about 12 weeks because of a broken part, said Doug Brasuell, assistant Bixby fire chief. The replacement parts for the trailer arrived last week.
The trailer is one of 24 small decontamination trailers situated throughout Oklahoma as part of a statewide disaster response system.
The $43,000 trailers come with a portable shower and containment system to be used to clean people exposed to a chemical attack. Since early May, the shower tent has had a broken strut, making it inoperable, Brasuell said.
Brasuell said Bixby firefighters have experienced equipment problems with the shower tent in past training exercises. He said he has ordered extra parts for it.
"I don't want to point fingers at the manufacturer, but I will say that this is not an isolated incident," Brasuell said. "I am not going to say it is a flaw, but the equipment does not seem to be standing up to training and deployment for our use."
