Grant Will Fund Bulletproof Vests For Local Police

By Andrew Gorosko

The town will receive a federal grant reimbursing it for about half the cost of acquiring eight new concealable bulletproof vests for police officer use.

Newtown is among 12 cities and towns in the fifth congressional district, which will receive funds toward the purchase of bulletproof vests.

Under the US Department of Justice Bulletproof Vest Partnership grant program, Newtown will receive $1,806 in grant funding of the more than $75,000 in grants being distributed in the district.

“Bulletproof vests are a major component of ensuring the safety of the men and women who keep our neighborhoods and communities safe… These officers help to keep us safe. This is the least we can do to make sure they area kept safe in the line of duty,” US Rep James Maloney said in a statement.

 Mr Maloney was a sponsor of federal legislation which created the federal bulletproof vest grant program.

 Acting Police Chief Michael Kehoe said July 10 that with the acquisition of eight new vests, all officers in the police department will have new body armor of the same design. Last year, the town received bulletproof vest grant funding which aided it in purchasing 26 new bulletproof vests.

The vests, which are manufactured by American Body Armor, cost about $500 apiece. Each officer is measured for a vest, which is then assembled for him or her.

The vests, which police bought last year and will buy this year, are lighter, more comfortable and more durable than those they had used in the past, Acting Chief Kehoe said. The vests are more resistant to gunfire than the previous versions which police wore, he added.

Most police officers who are on patrol duty wear the vests as a precautionary measure.

Acting Chief Kehoe noted that while a vest affords a measure of protection to a police officer’s torso, it does not protect the entire body from injury.

“The funding…moves us one step closer to ensuring that all of our officers are protected in the line of duty,” Mr Maloney said.

Other area towns receiving federal subsidies for bulletproof vests include Monroe, Brookfield, Danbury and New Fairfield.

In determining what type of bulletproof vests to acquire, police decided they wanted lightweight, thin vests which are comfortable and easily concealable, and which pose minimum restrictions on their motion and mobility.