Former Cuyahoga County sheriff's deputy paid $6,500 each for 2 military rifles too powerful to use

CLEVELAND -- Two high-powered rifles generally used to battle insurgents in Iraq or Afghanistan sit in the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office collecting dust.

The .50-caliber rifles are rarely even practice-fired, since they're too powerful for most ranges in the state. Designed to puncture steel and destroy engines, the rifles are better suited for soldiers, not SWAT officers, law enforcement officials said.

The rifles, worth about $6,500 each, are among the $500,000 worth of weapons and equipment that a high-ranking member of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office bought mainly for the SWAT team in 2004. The purchases were made without approval, Sheriff Gerald McFaul said.