Vice President Mike Pence's walkout during an Indianapolis Colts game last month cost local police more than $14,000, according to a government watchdog group.
Pence attended the football game in his home state, only to leave once several players kneeled in protest during the national anthem. President Donald Trump later tweeted to confirm that he "asked" Pence to leave if any players knelt.
On Tuesday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, revealed that the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spent $14,163.36 on security for Pence.
"The tone is set at the top when it comes to this administration's disregard for ethics," the group's Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement, according to The Daily Beast. "Vice President Pence should know better than to use taxpayer money to make a rhetorical point, but carelessness with taxpayer money seems to be a common theme with senior administration officials."
Pence's trip also cost an additional $242,500 in flight costs, according to a CNN estimate.
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