An Arizona sheriff trying to help out cash-strapped public safety agencies—or attempting to curry political favor in an election year—apparently ran afoul of Pentagon rules when he lent out surplus military equipment and supplies starting in 2010. Pinal County, Arizona, Sheriff Paul Babeu lent hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of Humvees, fire trucks, medical equipment and other supplies to Pinal County agencies, including rural volunteer fire departments and fire & rescue units. The Defense Department (DOD) ordered the sheriff to retrieve the items in May 2012.
