Feds to fund bulletproof vests for Cape police

The U.S. Justice Department will provide $16,845 in matching grant money to the city of Cape Girardeau to buy 57 bulletproof vests over the next three years.

Cape Girardeau County will receive $3,450 in grant money to purchase 23 bulletproof vests, U.S. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, said.

Perry County government will receive $745 to buy five vests and the city of Perryville will receive $1,176 for eight vests, Emerson said.

Another $1,912.50 will be spent on nine vests for Scott County law enforcement officers.

In all, the U.S. Department of Justice will provide $60,803 to law enforcement agencies in southern Missouri, Emerson said.

Sgt. Barry Hovis of the Cape Girardeau Police Department said his department received a grant in 2000 of $9,500 which helped buy 40 new and replacement vests for officers.

Hovis said the city government and the Cape Girardeau Police Officers Association provided the 50 percent local match for that grant and are providing the local match for the new grant.

A regular bulletproof vest costs $425. More protective vests cost about $1,700 apiece. "They cover a lot more areas of your body," said Hovis. "For a short, quick entry, they will stop a lot of high-velocity rounds."

Hovis said vests last anywhere from five to a dozen years, depending on how often they are worn and the wear and tear on them.

Hovis said 57 vests would cost over $33,000, with the federal government paying 50 percent of that cost.