Three area police departments have received grants from the U.S. Department of Justice to help purchase ballistic or stab-resistant body armor.
Grants went to Edinburgh Police Department, for $4,360.50; Columbus Police Department, for $2,445.83 and North Vernon Police Department, for $788.26. The three awards were among 111 Indiana law enforcement agencies received, worth a total of $377,409.
Dave Murtaugh, Indiana Criminal Justice Institute executive director, said ballistic body armor has saved more than 3,000 police officers’ lives in the past 30 years.
The Bulletproof Vest Partnership, a matching grant fund program, gives funding priority to cities, towns and counties with fewer than 100,000 residents. The 50-50 matching fund reimbursement is for equipment ordered after April 1 of this year.
