American Police Have So Much Gear That They're Sending It To Ukraine

 American police departments have so much extra tactical gear that they're sending it to Ukraine to help the country's mostly non-professional military fight back against the much more well-equipped Russian military. It's also worth noting that Ukraine's annual defense budget is smaller than that of the NYPD.

According to Vice, law enforcement agencies in several states have announced in recent days that they’re donating dozens of pieces of body armor, such as ballistic helmets and vests. Some of the departments and their respective local partners—one of which is a top defense contractor with contracts from both the American and Ukrainian governments. contracts—say the donations will be distributed to the Ukrainian military.

State law enforcement agencies in Colorado and Vermont both announced Wednesday that they were donating defensive equipment to Ukraine: it was a "coordinating an effort to donate used and expired body-armor vests to military units in Ukraine." What's more, the Vermont State Police also encouraged members of the public to donate their own body armor as long as it’s rated Level III or higher by the Department of Justice’s research arm (meaning it's capable of protecting against some rifle rounds).

Moving on, one Colorado PD descried the equipment it would be donating, claiming it had aged beyond its recommended life-cycle.

The Colorado Department of Public Safety said it was donating more than 80 sets of body armor and 750 helmets, and that it was accepting donations from other law enforcement agencies in the state. “This is equipment that we are no longer able to use because it is beyond life cycle, or in some cases it may have been replaced or upgraded by some equipment that maybe better fits our needs or is safer,” Colorado DPS spokesperson Patricia Billinger told local station KARE9.

The police in Sarasota, Fla. released a message to social media sharing their plans.

One small town in central PA said it's donating bullet-proof vests.

In Pennsylvania, the Falls Township Police Department, which has 53 sworn officers and is situated about 40 minutes north of Philadelphia, is sending 52 ballistic vests, including 15 “military-grade” vests capable of stopping rifle bullets, although they’re no longer under warranty, according to Falls Township police chief Nelson E. Whitney II.

“We took 45 vests from the back [of the department’s evidence facility],” Whitney said. “I looked through my basement, and I found a couple I had from over the years, and other officers did the same.”

Even Yonkers is getting in on the donations, which are being led - at least in their region - by organizers out of Westchester.

"The war in Ukraine is bearing down unbelievable tragedy upon the Ukrainian people, and the Yonkers Police stands united with them," Yonkers police commissioner John J. Mueller said in a statement accompanying a press release announcing the donation. "It is our hope that this donation helps in the defense of their homeland."

One department decided to send gear at the behest of the wife of one of its officers.

The department decided to coordinate donations after a request from one of their officers whose wife is Ukrainian and still had family there. The Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center in nearby Jenkintown, is coordinating the donations and flying supplies from the U.S. to Poland every day, according to Whitney.

The Biden Administration solicited donations from departments across the country earlier this week. And at least some of the material being distributed might otherwise have been destroyed if it weren't for Ukraine.

One sheriff claimed in an announcement that the federal government, including the Department of Defense and State Department, were soliciting donations for Ukraine from state and local law enforcement.Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman announced last week that his department would send more than 340 expired ballistics helmets that would otherwise be destroyed to a Pentagon contractor, which would then send them to Ukraine..

"Many of our Department of Defense (DOD) and State Department contacts have asked the law enforcement community for equipment to help the Ukrainian people push back against this violence and protect their citizens," Hoffman said on Twitter.

Of course, some American police departments have too much on their plate to justify sending arms to Ukraine. The Portland Police Department, for example.

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