The Morehead Police Department recently received a grant from the Attorney General’s Department of Criminal Investigations. The grant will be used to buy new, updated equipment.
Police Captain Josh Ison said the grant is not a specific amount of money. Instead, it will reimburse the police department for the cost of body armor vests for their officers in need.
“The way that the grant is set up is, if you have expiring body armor, which it expires every five years, you have to buy new body armor, or if you have a new officer that needs body armor, you can apply for this grant. We received it for six officers,” said Ison.
In addition to the body armor vests, officials said the money will also be used to buy duty weapons, ammunition, and body cameras.
Ison said every police officer in Morehead has a fully functional body camera. However, he said the department’s camera lease is ending, and the new grant money will fund the acquisition of new equipment.
Ison said the money will help keep Morehead police officers safe and relieve some of the financial strain on the department.
“We are a small, 22-man agency in eastern Kentucky, and dollars count, you know? It definitely relieves some expense to the taxpayers and helps on the annual budget,” said Ison.
The police department plans to apply for similar grants in the future when equipment needs to be replaced again.
More information about the grant and other Police Department news is available at morehead-ky.gov.