$1 million in seized drug money to fund officer backpay, new gear

That money is cash seized from drug busts, commonly referred to as asset forfeiture funds. Prince William County has just over one million seized drug dollars in the bank.

The Board of County Supervisors on Tuesday approved a plan to use about $400,000 to pay some 40 or current and retired police officers who worked between June 2014 and December 2018.

The affected officers have already been paid for every hour of overtime worked. This cash will go to fund the additional half-hour of overtime (time and a half) that was not paid, said Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok.

In 2016, a Fairfax Court ruled in Morrison vs. the County of Fairfax that firefighters in that county were not exempt from Fair Labor Standards Act law and deserved to be paid time and a half for overtime. Afterward, the same pay requirement was adopted by the Prince William County Fire and Rescue Department, and by the police department in 2018.

It was determined back pay would be awarded to officers for time worked up to two years prior to the 2016 court ruling. Officers are paid overtime for any work they do outside of their normal shift.

In addition to the overtime back pay, county leaders authorized the spending of about $500,110 in seized drug money to buy more gear for the department and to improve existing department faculties.