FBI, Indiana troopers raid offices of Lake County sheriff

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - The FBI and Indiana State Police raided the offices of Lake County Sheriff John Buncich and seized boxes of documents Thursday, though the target of their investigation remained unclear.

The investigators entered the offices of the Lake County Government Center about 9:30 a.m. and left several hours later. Their cars were also parked Thursday morning outside Buncich's home in Crown Point. FBI Special Agent Bob Ramsey, who appeared outside the sheriff's home, declined to comment.

Ryan Holmes, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, said federal authorities were serving search warrants on the sheriff but declined to comment on the nature of the investigation.

Dean Delisle told The (Northwest Indiana) Times (http://bit.ly/2g1iReF ) he was seeking a copy of an accident report in an office where police records are kept when investigators entered and ordered everybody including employees to leave the building. He said investigators then began "taking pictures of everything."

The department is cooperating with the investigation, spokesman Mark Back said.

"Regular Sheriff's Department operations are continuing. We assure the citizens of Lake County that their safety remains our top priority," Back said in an emailed statement.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com