At this year’s Breakfast with the Chief we heard from Chief Trevor Womack about Officer Safety, updated crime stats and the current needs of the Salem Police Department. We then heard from Patrol Lt. Matt Riddle about the enhanced bulletproof body armor. He tugged at our heart strings with these comments:
“Providing these plates to officers will not magically make them more brave or courageous. They are already those things, they already run towards gunfire, danger and the dark unknowns. They already do this and will continue to do it with or without the plates. These brave men and women would storm the gates of hell with squirt guns if they had to…. these plates are not for them. These plates are for their families, their children, and you the citizens. They are for you because these plates make our officers hard to kill, and when they are hard to kill, they are more available and capable of those acts of bravery. What the additional protection provided by this product means to officers and their families is immeasurable. What this means to our community is equally invaluable. This keeps officers safer, not only to go home to their families, but so that community members can go home to theirs.”
Each piece of body armor runs for around $400. You can do your part by donating at our website: https://salempolicefoundation.org/
