Miller County Sheriff’s Office receives federal grant for body armor

TUSCUMBIA, Mo. (KY3) - Anytime you come in contact with a law enforcement officer, they are likely wearing a bulletproof vest. Deputies at Miller County received their new ones Thursday, a hefty upgrade to what they had before.

”The body armor they had in the past was at least six years old, I believe. So, according to the standards, it was outdated. I think five years is the life expectancy of it,” said Sheriff Louie Gregoire.

The sheriff says it’s time to upgrade to keep deputies safe.

”If you watch the news at any point, I mean, how many shootings are they involved in law enforcement? So it’s very important. It could say absolutely save their life,” said Sheriff Gregoire.

The vests came from a St. Louis-based company.

”They come down fitted every deputy here are measured them, and they’re custom fitted to the deputy, so they have a good comfortable fit under the uniform, or if there wear an outer carrier, it’s fit to them,” said Sheriff Gregoire.

The purchase was possible because of a federal grant.

”It’s a 50-50 matching grant. The federal government will pay half the price of the vest, and we had to pick up the other half,” said Sheriff Gregoire.

Deputies are already wearing them on duty.

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