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Harris County And Houston Top List Of Texas Jurisdictions That Will Get Rifle-Resistant Vests

The state is investing close to $23 million to better protect law enforcement professionals

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Bill Zeeble/KERA
Joseph Gamaldi, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, thinks shootings like the one that happened in downtown Dallas in July of 2016 –during which five police officers were killed– show why officers should wear this kind of gear.

Harris County and the City of Houston top the list of Texas jurisdictions that will get rifle-resistant vests for law enforcement officers thanks to a series of grants Governor Greg Abbott announced Tuesday.

The grants amount to almost $23 million and, overall, law enforcement professionals from 453 different jurisdictions around the state will receive a total of 32,842 rifle-resistant vests designed to protect them from high caliber rounds.

Harris County will receive 4,385 vests and the Houston Police will get 3,620.

Joseph Gamaldi, who just last week took office as the new president of the Houston Police Officers Union, thinks shootings like the one that happened in downtown Dallas in July of 2016 –during which five police officers were killed– show why officers should wear this kind of gear.

“There is a serious need for these vests, not just for Houston, but across the state. As long as people are armed with high power rifles, we need to be able to have equipment that can stop those and keep our officers safe so that when they do get that active shooter call they can throw that heavy vest on and know that they have that level of protection,” Gamaldi told Houston Public Media.

The vests are heavier than the body armor that sheriff deputies and police officers typically wear, and can withstand shots from potent firearms such as AR-15 rifles.

Click here to access the list of Texas jurisdictions that will be equipped with rifle-resistant vests.

Photo via Flickr
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