Michigan State Police investigators searched Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith's home Tuesday and removed exterior security cameras as part of their ongoing investigation into his use of forfeiture funds.

State Police Lt. Darren Green declined comment on why the cameras were removed from Smith's Macomb Township house and any other specific evidence taken during search so as not to jeopardize the investigation.

Smith left his home in the upscale subdivision just before noon, at the same time State Police were leaving, less than four hours after they arrived. Smith smiled tightly but did not stop to talk to the news media as he drove away with the windows rolled up in his SUV.

He later issued the following statement:

"This morning, as you know, members of the Michigan State Police appeared at my home as part of their investigation into the Macomb County Prosecutor's Forfeiture Fund. My family and I complied with their requests and cooperated fully, as I have promised to do from the beginning of this process. I will continue to cooperate fully and supply the State Police with any information they need to conclude their investigation."

The raid comes a month after State Police seized records from Smith's office in the Macomb County Administration Building in Mount Clemens.

State Police on April 1 confirmed it had begun an investigation of Smith's office over its handling of asset forfeiture funds. The Michigan Attorney General's Office said the investigation was launched following a request in March by Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel.

Smith is facing scrutiny over how he spent some of the $1.8 million in four forfeiture funds that have been under his office’s control for many years. The expenses include holiday parties, credit card bills and donations.

More:Macomb's Hackel, Smith call for investigations of each other's spending

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Green said State Police arrived about 8:10 a.m. to execute a search warrant at Smith's home.

He said Smith was home and has been cooperative during the execution of the search warrants. Green said Smith hasn't given investigators any resistance or tried to obstruct what they came to do.

Green said Smith's family was home, but his wife and children left shortly after investigators arrived. Green said that he believed a half-dozen investigators were at the home.

"These kinds of investigations kind of evolve," Green said.

Green said surveillance cameras were outside the home when he arrived and by the end of the search warrant being executed, they were not there any longer. A member of the State Police was carrying a ladder and was seen removing security cameras from outside the home.

"Anything that was taken today is gonna be directly tied to the ongoing investigation, and they have reason to have taken anything from the residence that would be considered evidence in their ongoing investigation, whatever that may be," Green said.

In a February letter to county commissioners suggesting an audit of the accounts, Hackel said that nearly $1.8 million was spent during the last six years from the accounts.

He suggested the audit could be limited to categories "where the purpose is not readily apparent." This would have allowed the exclusion of payments made to police departments, he stated, but would include, among other expenses, $161,000 to a security company.

A review of the documents earlier this year showed more than $80,000 in checks to a security firm in 2017 alone. Smith previously said the firm was hired to secure his office's three floors in the county administration building with security cameras and a fob entry system.

Green said this was the only search warrant being executed Tuesday, and has been the only one since the raid at the county building last month.

He said no criminal charges have been filed and no arrests have been made in the case. State Police said Smith has never been in custody.

Smith has previously said he welcomed the State Police investigation into his use of the drug and alcohol forfeiture funds. He told reporters after the office raid "we have nothing to hide."

"I recognize that, you know, that this doesn't look great," Smith said at that time, "but I can tell you this, after six months of hearing all these falsehoods in the press about what we've used this money for, I am so happy to have impartial investigators in our office looking through our documents, which we gave them a banker's box full of receipts, full of documents, full of explanations on how these monies were spent."

County Commissioner Leon Drolet, who lives in Macomb Township and has questioned some of the expenses — including checks to nonprofits — said Tuesday: "I think it's comforting the concerns are being taken very seriously by the State Police."

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.