Port Royal OKs $27K for police active-shooter gear

Port Royal Police are closer to being equipped with gear to protect against an active shooter.

The Town Council approved up to $27,000 Wednesday for the department to buy vests, ballistic blankets and ballistic helmets for 22 officers. The new gear wouldn’t be worn all the time, Police Chief Alan Beach noted, but would be in the department’s patrol cars.

Beach said the department is still pricing the equipment.

“We try to do everything we can to protect our officers,” Mayor Sam Murray said.

The push for the equipment increased after an incident in October 2015, when police exchanged fire with a man who had been the subject of domestic disturbance calls in a Port Royal mobile home park.

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 8:41 AM with the headline "Port Royal OKs $27K for police active-shooter gear."