How many times will the law enforcement community and the people that they serve allow our elected officials to risk the safety of our community and the lives of our dedicated law enforcement officers?
The recent decision of the Yonkers City Council and Mayor not to authorize and provide funding to the Yonkers Police Department to purchase new bullet proof vests is unacceptable. It indicates to us that the bottom line is more important than the safety of the men and women who place their lives on the line for eight to sometimes sixteen hours a day.
The National Black Police Association has found that these careless governmental decisions have occurred not only in Yonkers but elsewhere in Westchester County. When you have cities such as Mount Vernon and Yonkers that have been infected with Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), gang members video-taping themselves with SALW, along with the rise of people being shot at or killed, the Police Departments should be well trained and equipped to do their jobs. They need to have the best equipment and training those professionals should have available to them. For any officer to go 5 to 10 years in this type of environment without the municipalities updating their body armor is an insult to the police officers and their families.
Unfortunately these decision makers will not properly respond until a life is lost. Regretfully if a life is lost, shortly thereafter a report would most likely be issued, more recommendations given and still nothing would be corrected. Why? This is because effective correction of a problem such as this in law enforcement costs money. It’s the NBPA’s opinion; our leaders would rather foolishly bury their heads in the sand and hopethat an officer is not mortally wounded than have the courage to invest in the safety of our law enforcement professionals.
In Unity and Peace
Damon K. Jones
North East Region Representative
National Black Police Association
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