Safariland LLC has landed a $7.3 million contract to supply the New York City Police Department with ballistic gear.
Specifically, the Jacksonville, Florida-based company will deliver 20,000 high-performance Delta 4 helmets, 12,000 Hardwire Type III armor plates and 6,000 TAC PR plate racks, according to a press release.
The equipment, which officers will begin wearing in September, is designed to protect them from threats from gunmen carrying more powerful firearms, officials said.
The department is seeking to acquire "heavy duty vests -- vests that would be capable of stopping rounds fired from weapons like we saw in Baton Rouge, Louisiana," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a July 25 press conference.
The Baton Rouge shooter was identified as Gavin Long, a former Marine who spent time in Iraq and was discharged at the rank of sergeant in 2010. Armed with an IWI Tavor SAR 5.56 caliber rifle and a Springfield XD 9mm pistol, he shot and killed three law enforcement officers and injured three others in a July 17 attack. One of the slain officers was Matthew Lane Gerald, 41, a veteran of both the Army and Marine Corps.
"The traditional vests that our officers wear under their shirts ... are the latest [and] state-of-the-art, but will not stop unfortunately some of the weaponry that American" police officers have been facing on the streets, de Blasio said.
The Safariland contract is but one of many being issued by the NYPD, which has spent $323 million in the last 18 months to acquire and train personnel on the new protective gear, the mayor said.
"You name it, we're buying it," he said at the press conference.
