What do horses named Bandit, Tater, and Duck have in common with a sno-cone machine, a dunk tank, and a go-kart? They're all part of the wasteful spending by the Bates County Sheriff's Office uncovered in a new report released today by Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick.
The audit conducted by Fitzpatrick's office gives the Bates County Sheriff's Office the lowest possible rating of "poor" and notes how Sheriff Chad Anderson wasted public resources to maintain a Mounted Patrol (MP) and fund a Sheriff's Posse (Posse), as well as fund rodeo and community events, donate to various private organizations, hold parties, and use county assets for personal use.
"A county sheriff is entrusted with the duty to promote public safety and protect the lives of county residents, and using taxpayer funds to purchases horses, hold rodeos, and throw holiday parties is clearly a betrayal of the public's trust and a misuse of funds that could have been better used for legitimate law enforcement purposes or by Bates County taxpayers," said Auditor Fitzpatrick. "I'm sure there are people in Bates County who enjoyed seeing Bandit, Tater, and Duck, and attending some of the events the Sheriff financed with public funds but they may be less thrilled when they realize how much money he diverted away from law enforcement efforts to purchase and care for these horses, and to buy items that have no law enforcement purpose like a dunk tank, a sno-cone machine, and a go-kart."
Fitzpatrick added, "I would like to think Sheriff Anderson would take responsibility for the poor decisions he has made, but the truth is he has gone to great lengths to delay our audit and to refute the findings contained in our report that are intended to improve the function of his office. It required multiple subpoenas to obtain the Sheriff's testimony and relevant documents to complete the audit, and it is disappointing that instead of accepting responsibility for the issues we identified, Sheriff Anderson chose to question our office's auditing expertise."
The audit report documents how the Bates County Sheriff's Office used more than $110,000 in county funds to establish and maintain the MP unit that was rarely used for law enforcement purposes. During the time period covered by the audit the MP attended 8 parades, 6 tractor shows, 4 rodeos, 4 fun horse shows, and 1 family fun day. During that same period of time the unit performed only one search and rescue and no crowd or traffic control. The report notes the unit was used for a second search and rescue effort in May 2026, but points out the number of ceremonial events significantly outnumbers the official law enforcement uses. The report also points out that many of the horses purchased by the office were at an advanced age and some had to be euthanized shortly after purchase. Of the current horses, only Bandit, who is 24 years of age, is search and rescue certified, while Duck and Tater have no experience or training. In total, the office has spent nearly $42,000 to purchase horses and at least another $53,225 to board, feed, and care for them. The Sheriff also spent $15,000 to purchase a horse trailer and have it wrapped with Bates County Sheriff Mounted Patrol signage.
The report also looks at how the Sheriff has used county resources to pay some of the expenses of the Posse, which is a not-for-profit entity without a written agreement with the office. The Sheriff used county funds to pay invoices addressed to the Posse totaling $16,848 including $7,406 for shirts with the Posse badge logo, $4,543 for medical training and equipment, $1,749 for Posse badges, $1,477 for customized saddle pads, $1,150 for supplies, and $523 for awards. The Sheriff also assigned the county-owned 2005 Chevy Tahoe to the Posse and used county funds totaling $605 to have the vehicle wrapped with the Posse's lettering and insignia. The report questions what safety or law enforcement purpose requires the Sheriff's office to pay to outfit Posse volunteers with realistic badges and Bates County Sheriff's office identification. In our audit period, the Posse has only been deployed to assist in 1 search and rescue mission and has not otherwise been used for documented law enforcement activities.
The audit report takes issue with the Sheriff's use of $23,788 to finance annual fundraising rodeos for the Posse and other community events such as Family Fun Days. Neither the county nor the Sheriff's office were reimbursed for funds spent on the events and all proceeds went to the concession vendor or the Posse from advertising sales. The Sheriff used county funds totaling $1,075 to advertise the events and rent portable toilets for monthly Rodeo Fun Shows for the Posse, and used county funds totaling $653 on 75 shirts in various sizes and colors for a dodge ball tournament hosted by the Bates County Sheriff's Posse. Additionally, the Sheriff maintains assets with no law enforcement purpose to facilitate the hosting of or participation in the community events. The Sheriff's asset list includes a dunk tank, a popcorn machine, a sno-cone machine, a roller grill, a cheese warmer, and a go-kart.
The audit also uncovered how the Sheriff donated $23,268 in county funds to local youth sports programs, and other not-for-profits. Included in that total is $5,045 for the construction, maintenance, and holiday decoration of a replica 1880's Sheriff's office located at the Adrian Frontier Village in Adrian, Missouri. The Sheriff's Office could not provide any law enforcement purpose for the construction, maintenance, and decoration of the replica building. The report also documents how the Sheriff used county funds to purchase food from local restaurants and rented event venues totaling $4,356 for parties. Additionally, the Sheriff used county assets for personal or non-county purposes and did not store all county property at approved county locations. The Sheriff used county assets for Posse and community events (dunk tank, vehicles, and MP horses) and used the county's armored vehicle for his son's high school prom. He also failed to consistently store the horse trailer at county approved locations.
The report points out the Sheriff attributed the extensive expenditures for community events, donations, and purchases of promotional items to community policing efforts, but does not have any policies or procedures for such a program or documentation to support how the expenditures supported his office's community policing goals, activities, or mission. The Sheriff used county funds to purchase promotional items totaling $13,735 to give away at community events. Items purchased include ink pens, lip balm, hand sanitizer, toy sheriff badges, hand fans, cups, beach balls, stress balls, string bags, stickers, mood bracelets, and flying discs as part of his office's community policing program. However, he does not have any documentation to support what community policing goals the items achieve.
Other findings in the report include a significant cash reserve in the Law Enforcement Fund without a plan for use of the balance or to reduce the Law Enforcement Sales Tax rate; improper uses of restricted Inmate Security Fund money to purchase items; lacking payroll controls and procedures; improper waiving of concealed carry weapon permit fees for some applicants; insufficient accounting controls and procedures; and inadequate inventory controls and procedures over commissary items sold to inmates.
.jpg)
.JPG)
