Here's another story I didn't get a chance to cover over the week so I'm going to cover it now:
http://www.delawareonline.com/...
Standing on the steps of the New Castle County Courthouse amid more than 40 police officers from a dozen different police agencies, including two officers who were saved from a gunman’s bullets in February, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., called on Congress to reauthorize a program to help fund bulletproof vests for local police agencies.
Coons said Congress let the program expire last summer and a U.S. senator put an anonymous “hold” on reauthorizing it, potentially ending a federal subsidy that pays for up to 50 percent of the costs of body armor for local police officers.
Coons said the program is “a life-saver, and we need to save it to keep saving lives.”
Sgt. Michael Manley of the Capitol Police – who was hit near the heart by a shot fired by New Castle County Courthouse shooter Thomas Matusiewicz on Feb. 11 after Matusiewicz had shot and killed Christine Belford and Laura Mulford – said his bulletproof vest that was partially paid for by the federal program saved his life.
Manley said he was not a politician and would not guess at why some in Washington would oppose it but said that it “would be the height of absurdity” if a fellow police officer lost his or her life in the future because Congress could not come to an agreement on this program.
Capitol Police Cpl. Steve Rinehart, whose life also was saved on Feb. 11 by a vest that was partially paid for by the program, agreed. He said for his first few years with the New Castle County Police Department – before he joined the Capitol Police – he served without a vest because neither he nor the county could afford one.
“I can say without a doubt that if I had not been wearing my vest on Feb. 11, I would not be standing before you here today,” he said. - The News Journal, 5/31/13
I wanted to touch on this story because I have relatives who are police officers in in Delaware and this story is personal. Here's a little more background info:
http://www.wboc.com/...
Sgt. Michael Manley and Cpl. Steve Rinehart of the Delaware Capitol Police said the vests they were wearing on Feb. 11 saved their lives after a gunman opened fire in the lobby of the New Castle County Courthouse. The man killed his former daughter-in-law and another woman before exchanging shots with police and taking his own life.
Both officers were wearing vests purchased with the help of the federal Bulletproof Vest Partnership program, which reimburses local police departments up to 50 percent of the costs of protective body armor for their officers.
Coons said the program has helped police departments buy more than 1 million vests and has saved the lives of more than 3,000 police officers since it began in 1998.
But the program did not receive any funding this year after Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma put a hold on a 2012 reauthorization bill.
Coons fears a reauthorization bill that he and fellow Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont introduced May 13 could be the target of similar opposition.
"I think this program is in grave danger, and I think it deserves our active and determined support," Coons said Friday on the steps of the courthouse, surrounded by some 50 police officers representing more than a dozen Delaware law enforcement agencies.
The reauthorization bill calls for $120 million in funding for the partnership over five years.
A spokesman for Coburn did not immediately respond to email and telephone messages seeking comment.
Manley said the vest he was wearing on Feb. 11 stopped a .45-caliber round from piercing his heart, leaving him instead with only bruised ribs and a large cut.
"In this instance, I survived because I was given the proper equipment, for the vest gave me a fighting chance," he said. "... It would be the height of tragic absurdity that a police officer sworn to protect, respond, react, would lose his or her life because the makers of the law cannot agree to provide that servant of the people with the fighting chance a bulletproof vest provides." - WBOC 16, 5/31/13
I don't blame Coons for being worried that the program may suffer another loss in the Senate:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Coburn spokesman John Hart said the senator’s position hasn’t changed since last year, when he sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky outlining his opposition to reauthorizing the partnership grants.
Coburn said in the letter that he supports the motive behind the legislation but believes the responsibility for protecting state and local officers lies with the state and local governments. He also expressed concerns about the cost of the program, given the national debt, and cited a Government Accountability Office finding that, of the $340 million in partnership awards from 1999 to 2012, some $93 million remained undisbursed by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. He also said the Department of Justice needs to improve compliance with the program’s terms and conditions.
The reauthorization bill calls for $120 million in funding for the partnership over five years.
According to Coons, law enforcement agencies in Delaware have received more than $482,000 over the past five years to help reimburse the costs for more than 3,850 vests.
Under the grant program, police departments must purchase armor that meets National Institute of Justice Standards and must require officers to wear the vests at all times while on duty, even, as Coons noted, “when it isn’t particularly comfortable.”
“We need to save this program so it can keep saving lives,” he said.
- Washington Post, 5/31/13
Police Officers are calling on Congress to renew the bulletproof vest program because it ensures cops' safety in fighting crime:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/...
Lewes Police Chief Jeffrey Horvath said the risk of dying from a gunshot is 14 times higher for police officers not wearing armored vests, which can cost hundreds of dollars and must be replaced every few years. He said it was "almost a slap in the face" to think that some in Congress would not favor federal funding to help protect officers.
Coons said opposition to reauthorizing the partnership comes from a small group of lawmakers who don't believe the federal government should have a role in local law enforcement, similar to those who want to get rid of the Department of Education.
"This is just one small piece of a much bigger disagreement," he said. - My San Antonio, 5/31/13
I thank Senator Coons for leading on this issue. Please call your Congressman and Senator and demand they look out for police officer's security by renewing the bulletproof vest program:
Senate: http://www.senate.gov/...
House: http://house.gov/...
And Please do call Senator Tom Coburn's (R. OK) office to shame him for stopping this:
(202) 224-5754
And if you would like to thank Senator Coons, please do donate to his 2014 re-election campaign:
https://secure.actblue.com/...