Los Lunas
The Los Lunas Police Department is one of 36 law enforcement agencies in the state who will receive funding to help buy bulletproof vests for their officers.
U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) recently reported that $26,674 was awarded to the New Mexico law enforcement departments from the U.S. Justice Department. The local police department will receive $6,695 to purchase bulletproof vests for the officers.
The funding was awarded through the agency’s Bulletproof Vest Partnership, which seeks to protect the lives of law enforcement by helping states and units of local and tribal governments equip their law enforcement officers with armor vests. The funds are provided on a 50-50 cost sharing basis.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that the risk of fatality to law enforcement officers while not wearing an armor vest is 14 times higher than for officers wearing a bulletproof vest,” Domenici said. “This funding will help communities throughout New Mexico better protect their law enforcement officers, who put their lives on the line every day to ensure our safety.”
The grant funding was authorized through the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000, which extends the partnership for 2002-2004. The law provides priority funding for jurisdictions with populations under 100,000 and increases the authorized funding level to $50 million each year. Domenici serves on the Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary Appropriations Subcommittee that sets the funding levels for the Department of Justice.
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