BY LAYLI WHYTE
Staff Writer
RUMSON — Ballistic shields and helmets are on the borough’s shopping list for emergency preparedness equipment for the Rumson Police Department.
According to Borough Administrator Thomas Rogers, the Borough Council made an emergency appropriation last November, after a CD was found in Iraq that was reported to have contained policy information about Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School.
The appropriation was for $13,000 for “Acquisition of Emergency Preparedness Equipment for the Rumson Police.”
The contract has been awarded to Ray’s Sport Shop, Law Enforcement Division, North Plainfield, in the amount of $12,886.24.
According to the quote given to the borough from Ray’s Sport Shop, the borough ordered 17 ballistic helmets ($240.47 each), 17 face shields ($62.24 each), each 5mm thick, two ballistic shields ($1,131.60 each), and two ballistic shield hand grips ($133.53 each).
Also, three bulletproof vests, with ballistic fold down groin guards, were ordered at $739.50 each. For each vest, the borough ordered a detachable bulletproof collar at $87 each.
The borough is also expecting webbing with pockets for the vests, a ceramic ballistic plate, two police logos for the shields and a halogen light system with a rechargeable battery.
Mayor John Ekdahl said that since the federal Homeland Security Act was passed, the council had been discussing how to boost the borough’s preparedness.
“The incident at the high school really made the schedule for purchasing the equipment much more aggressive,” he said. “The police department, in thinking through the worst case scenarios, realizes that they didn’t have the type of equipment necessary to deal with them.”
Ekdahl said that the equipment is less for crowd control, and more for an offensive strike.
“It’s more to launch an attack on a hostile group,” he said, “like a group that would take over a school.”
Ekdahl said that although the New Jersey State Police, who already have this type of equipment, would most likely help the Rumson police in an emergency situation, because the response time is uncertain, the council wanted to make sure the police would be prepared to respond.