The city and county expect to be reimbursed, but they haven't received any money yet.
When anarchists took to the streets in September, city and county security forces were ready with specially purchased equipment like LRAD, the deafening long-ranged acoustic device.
The city and county bought four of those systems at a cost of more than $100 thousand.
But Pittsburgh's Public Safety Director Michael Huss says he's confident the state and federal government will reimburse every penny, which would put the city and county ahead of the game in terms of training and new equipment.
"Anytime that we invest in our Public Safety Bureau as far as training and equipment, I think it has a long-term impact," said Huss.
However, not everyone is thrilled.
Activist Albert Petrarca, who was arrested during the G-20 for sitting down in front of one of the LRAD systems, says he worries that the device will be used in everyday law enforcement.
"There's an old saying that no military weapon goes unused," said Petrarca. "They produce these things for a purpose."
But that is not so, according to the Sheriff's Office. They purchased ninja-turtle body armor for its deputies in the event of mass violence.
Even though that never materialized at the levels anticipated, Sheriff William Mullen also says the expenditures were necessary to protect his deputies and the city.
"The equipment was bought for that purpose - not to intimidate or be more militaristic than we are, but it was bought to protect," he said.
But some equipment purchased is already collecting dust like 560 bed shells purchased for the jail in the event of mass G-20 arrests. None of the shells were used and for the foreseeable future they will be stowed away in this North Side warehouse.
Still, Mullen says the equipment may be useful some day.
"We may have to use it if the Steeler win the Super Bowl or the Penguins win the Stanley Cup," added Mullen. "I don't know if the Pirates are gong to win the World Series in the near future."
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