Police receive federal grant for new body armor

By Lea Terry
Midwest City Beacon

The Del City Police Department plans to replace some of its officers’ body armor thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, or JAG, provides funding to local and state governments for services such as law enforcement, drug treatment and enforcement, crime prevention and more.

The grant was named after Edward R. Byrne, a New York City police officer killed while protecting a witness.

Del City is receiving funding through the grant through a Memorandum of Understanding with Oklahoma County and several other metro municipalities. Del City approved the MOU at its February 3 City Council meeting. Under the MOU, Oklahoma County, which received the grant, will allocate portions of the money to Del City, Edmond, Midwest City and Oklahoma City. Under the MOU, Oklahoma County will receive $155,588 of the JAG funds, while Del City will receive $9,653.00; Edmond will receive $8,221.00; Midwest City will receive $11.237.00; and Oklahoma City will receive $248,996.00.

Under the MOU, participating cities will be reimbursed for services or goods purchased as part of the grant program, with Oklahoma City managing the grant and cities submitting documentation regarding their use of the grant money.

In addition, Oklahoma City will earn interest on the funds, with that money being used under the terms of the grant.

Also, instead of giving the other cities a monthly interest distribution, Oklahoma City will add 2.5 percent to each city’s allocation. While the grant does allow for a 10 % fee for administration, Oklahoma City has stated it will not charge the participating cities that fee.

All parties must spend their allocations of JAG funding on or before September 30, 2026 and must be used for equipment or services for law enforcement purposes.

Since 2005, the grant has awarded more than $7.6 billion in funding in the form of over 24,000 grants. For more information about the JAG grant, visit https://bja.ojp.gov/program/jag/overview