New bulletproof vests for Madison County sheriff’s deputies
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MADISON COUNTY, Tenn.-The Madison County Sheriff’s Department will purchase 60 new bulletproof vests. The department will add the more than $18,000 worth of gear through a grant from the Bulletproof Vest Partnership. The sheriff’s department requires all those working in the patrol division to wear a bulletproof vest. Officials told WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News both deputies and reserves will use the new weightless vest. “There’s new technology in the vests, they’re thinner than they used to be so we’ll start trading those vests out this year and get the thinner ones. Because that weight difference, it’s hard on the officers and it’s just that much more they had to carry,” said Sheriff John Mehr with the Madison County Sheriff’s Department. The sheriff’s department says they expect to have the vest purchased by the end of the year. The grant program is credited with saving the lives of at least 33 officers in 20 different states.
