GREENFIELD — Greenfield Police Department officers will soon carry additional bullet-proof vests in their cars after department leaders expressed a desire to increase officer safety.
The vests would be worn in the event of an active shooter, officials said.
In addition to shielding a police officer from bullets and shrapnel, each vest holds a first aid kit and has pockets to hold extra ammunition.
Though police department leaders began laying the groundwork for the purchase weeks ago, recent shootings in Dallas and Baton Rouge only highlight the need for additional security for police officers, city officials said.
Five police officers were fatally shot and seven others wounded in Dallas on July 7 while providing security for a Black Lives Matter protest. Three more officers were killed in Baton Rouge 10 days later by a lone gunman along a city highway.
Officials believe both attacks were spurred by the deaths of two black men killed by police separate incidents in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier this month.
Greenfield leaders will spend nearly $20,000 to purchase about 40 bullet-proof vest for each of the police department’s patrol officers.
More details in Saturday’s Daily Reporter.