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Seminole County gets $140,000 grant for local police departments

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Each police department in Seminole County will get nearly $15,000 in grant money, including the Sanford Airport Authority.

The grant totals roughly $140,000, but there’s some outcry over why the Sanford Airport Authority will also get a piece of the money.

The police department at the airport has 12 members and will get 10 portable ticket writers for its officers who patrol the grounds. However, in 2011, authorities there only wrote a total of 68 traffic tickets.

The airport department will also get a thermal imaging camera similar to those used by fire departments to detect people who may be trapped in burning buildings.

Airport officials said they'll use the technology to look for people who may be hiding in the thick wooded areas around the airport, though airport officials refused to say whether they've had security incidents like that before.

Airport President Larry Dale, who's also the chief of police at the airport, declined a request for an interview.

The Casselberry Police Department will use its money for dashcam video recorders. Oviedo will get message signs, and Sanford police will buy new training equipment.

The federal grant money comes from the Edward Byrne Memorial Program, which was created in 2004 to promote safer communities.