July 20, 2018 – The City of Frankfort’s Police Department has been awarded $19,500 in funds from the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security Law Enforcement Protection Grant Program for the purchase of 30 Body Armor Vests, according to Police Chief Travis Ellis.
“Our Police Department is in dire need of the replacement of vests for 30 of our officers. The current vests are old and outdated. They are on the verge of expiring and the availability of these grant funds will offset the cost of replacing these vital pieces of safety equipment,” Ellis said.
The importance of utilizing body armor in police work is paramount. Policemen are deployed to all types of environments including possibly hostile ones. “It’s essential that we protect our officers in every way possible to ensure they return safely to their families. Protective equipment such as body armor can help our officers fulfill their duties safely and efficiently,” Ellis continued.
The Law Enforcement Protection Program (LEPP) is a state program funded solely by the sale of confiscated weapons received by the Kentucky State Police from local agencies. LEPP provides grants for body armor, duty weapons, ammunition, electronic-control devices, electronic-control weapons or electronic-muscular disruption technology, and body-worn cameras to sworn peace officers and service animals. These funds are available for cities, counties, charter counties, unified counties, urban-counties, consolidated local government police departments, public university safety and security departments, sheriff's departments and special law enforcement officers attached to school districts.
In awarding these grants, KOHS gives first priority to providing and replacing body armor. Body armor purchased using LEPP funds must meet or exceed the standards issued by the National Institute of Justice for body armor.
According to Ellis, Frankfort’s replacement body armor vests should be purchased, received and being utilized by officers in the next several weeks.
For additional information please contact Rebecca Hall at 502-352-2076 or rhall@frankfort.ky.gov.