HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-312JULY 13, 2011 11 -312 RESOLUTION
(CARRIED 7 -0 LOST LAID OVER WITHDRAWN )
PURPOSE: AUTHORIZE POLICE DEPARTMENT GRANT /2011 EDWARD
BYRNE JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT (JAG) THROUGH U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOR MISCELLANEOUS POLICE
EQUIPMENT ($31,371.00)
INITIATED BY: OSHKOSH POLICE DEPARTMENT
BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Oshkosh that the proper
City officials are hereby authorized and directed to approve application for a grant
agreement with U.S. Department of Justice for:
Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant to assist local law
enforcement to purchase needed equipment or replacement
equipment such as tactical vests with rifle plates, rifles, trunk
containers for vests, rifle magazines, and pouches.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the proper City officials are hereby authorized
and directed to execute any and all documents required by the U.S. Department of Justice,
Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance for the purposes of same, and
are further authorized and directed, if said grant is awarded, to accept such funds pursuant
to the terms of the grant application and to purchase needed equipment with grant funds.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that money for this purpose is hereby appropriated
from:
Acct. No. 215 - 0211 - 6550 -00000 Police Special Fund - Minor Equipment
City of Oshkosh
Police Department
420 Jackson Street
Oshkosh, WI 54901
Tel: 920 - 236 -5720
Fax: 920- 236 -5087
sgreuel @ci.oshkosh.wi.us
www.oshkoshpd.com
PROFESSIONALISM • PRIDE • INTEGRITY • TEAMWORK Scott D. Greuel
Chief of Police
TO:
FROM
DATE:
RE:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council
Scott D. Greuel, Chief of Police
July 6, 2011
Acceptance of Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant
BACKGROUND
The Oshkosh Police Department has been notified that we are eligible to receive a federal
grant through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program.
Program guidelines require that the application be available for review by the governing
body of the unit of local government prior to submitting the application to the Bureau of
Justice Assistance. A public notice was also printed in the Oshkosh Northwestern on
June 23, 2011, without any public comments received by our agency. Specific funds to
local governments are based on a formula that calculates direct allocations based on their
share of total violent crime reported within the state, and our jurisdiction, as indicated on
the annual Uniform Crime Report (UCR) that we are required to submit annually. The
grant can be used to purchase equipment needed to support public safety services. The
JAG grant application deadline is July 21, 2011.
The eligible allocation to the city of Oshkosh under the Byrne JAG Grant is $31,371.
The City of Oshkosh will act as the fiscal agent for this grant, which will be administered
by the Oshkosh Police Department. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be
signed by Winnebago County officials as well because of the disparate allocation of
funds as no other law enforcement agency in Winnebago County will be receiving funds
from this specific grant.
ANAL NSTS
We intend to utilize the grant funds to purchase protective tactical vests with rifle plates,
and Kevlar helmets to be stored in every marked patrol squad to help protect officers
against rifle and other high power weapons on high risk calls. The cost of the vests and
helmets is approximately $15,000. The added protective equipment will supplement the
soft body armor that officers are required to wear in the field. The regular soft body
armor worn by officers may not be enough to protect our officers from the threat posed
from persons armed with high powered rifles, such as was used in the killing of the Fond
du Lac Police Officer in March 2011. The recent shooting death of a Fond du Lac police
officer and the alarming increase in officer line of duty deaths by gunfire the past couple
of years in the United States reminds us of the threats to safety faced by police officers in
our communities on a regular basis. The tactical vests will also protect citizens that are
The Mission of the Oshkosh Police Department is to promote public safety and to enhance the
quality of life in our community through innovative policing and community partnerships
being evacuated or extricated from the scenes of high risk or hazardous situations. These
vests will be similar to those currently worn by officers of our Crisis Reaction Team
(CRT) when deployed at a critical incident, and that are currently not available to other
officers on an inner perimeter position or while holding the scene awaiting the arrival of
CRT.
We also intend to purchase approximately fifteen - twenty (15 -20) Colt rifles for duty use
to replace the DPMS Panther Arms rifles currently available to officers from our rifle
bank or multiple user cache. The cost of the rifles is approximately $12,000- $16,000.
The reliability of the DPMS rifles has been questioned by our certified department rifle
repair technicians because of a number of critical failures found in the firing mechanisms
of those rifles during recent controlled qualification shooting and routine rifle
maintenance. The parts in the DPMS rifles are not machined to the quality of the other
Colt Rifles currently available to our officers, nor are they durable enough to sustain the
number of rounds fired through them over a long period of time in our regular department
training and qualification shooting. We need to be able to have enough reliable and
dependable rifles available for use by at least two shifts of officers simultaneously, and to
have adequate fire power to deal with the threats to officer and public safety during high
risk incidents. By department policy, officers are required to have a long rifle available
to them as a force option while on -duty. The current DPMS rifles will be traded to a
licensed firearms dealer to reduce the cost of the purchase of the new Colt Rifles, and
will be traded in compliance with Federal and State regulations.
Any remaining grant money will be spent on vest containers for the squad trunks and /or
extra rifle magazines.
FISCAL IMPACT
No budget funds will be used to support any of the equipment purchases for this grant
and there are no matching funds required. On -going maintenance, repair or replacement
of the protective equipment and rifles will be the only cost in the future as part of our
regular annual maintenance costs for all of our duty weapons or equipment.
SUMMARY
If approved, we intent to submit the application by the established deadline, accept the
eligible Byrne JAG funds allocated to the Oshkosh Police Department and purchase the
equipment indicated in this memo within the established grant timelines. The Oshkosh
Police Department will act as the fiscal agent, and specifics of the use of the grant will be
outlined in the grant application that will be submitted by the deadline of July 21, 2011.
Respectfully submitted,
Scott D. Greuel
Chief of Police
City of Oshkosh
Approved,
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Mark Rohloff
City Manager
City of Oshkosh