Bedford County Sheriff's Office in Virginia

NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA News, Sports and Weather

If you cannot see video please view video here.

A bulletproof vest can be the last – and only – line of defense for law enforcement. But nationwide, it’s estimated as many as 200,000 officers are working without them.

Now, with some high-profile help, one man is working to help Virginia’s protectors get the equipment they need. Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown is on a mission to put vests on every officer who needs one – in Virginia and across the country.

“Probably the most important piece is his weapon. The second most important piece of safety equipment, or equipment, is the ballistic vest,” Brown said.

But that protection doesn’t come free; one vest can cost as much as $600, a price some police departments and sheriff’s offices in the state can’t afford. That’s where Brown is stepping in. With help from Moose International, Brown’s nonprofit, the Safe Surfin’ Foundation, is donating 33 new vests.

Some like the Waynesboro Sheriff’s Office can’t afford them, and will be able to equip all four deputies for the first time. Town of Louisa police say their five new vests will help keep officers safe in a time of tight budgets.

Brown is also getting high-profile help from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, whose office is awarding $245,000 to pay for more than 500 vests in Virginia. The money is part of a $115 million Medicaid fraud settlement reached last year.

“These law enforcement officers, whether they be deputies or police officers, are protecting us,” Brown said, “and they should have every piece of equipment they can possibly have to protect them.”

Brown’s effort only began about three months ago. Already, it has secured funding to equip more than 650 officers and deputies with new vests.

Original Link: Posted on http://nbc29.com
Date: Dec 5, 2013

When:   December 5, 2013

Where:  Capitol Building, 1000 Bank Street, House Room 1, Richmond, VA

Time:     1:00 PM

 Richmond, VA – Bedford County (VA), Sheriff Mike Brown, Chairman and Co-Founder of the Safe Surfin’ Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit which provides Internet safety materials for schools, parents and more, has, with the help of Moose International,  successfully raised funds to supply six law enforcement agencies ballistic protection which they otherwise would not have access to due to budgetary restraints.  Sheriff Brown will personally present these vests to the agency heads of the following VA law enforcement organizations:

Rocky Mount Police Dept
Waynesboro Sheriff’s Office
Central VA Community College Police
VA School for the Deaf and Blind PD
Rappahannock County Sheriff’s Office
Louisa PD

 Sheriff Mike Brown met a young trooper that had survived being shot three times by a suspected online child pornographer; Brown questioned why the trooper wasn’t wearing his vest.  The trooper did have a vest, however since he was interviewing with this suspect, whom he had interviewed before, he didn’t see the need to put on his bulky, uncomfortable ballistic vest.

This prompted Sheriff Brown to further investigate ballistic use and availability to all law enforcement, in hopes to promote the wearing of ballistics no matter what type of investigation they may encounter.  Much to this Sheriff’s surprise, he learned that over 220,000 law enforcement personnel in the country, due to budget short falls do not have ANY ballistic protection to wear at all.

Brown, with foundation funding partner, Moose International, began a nation-wide effort to raise funds to purchase ballistic vests for those departments who have but no choice than to allow their officers to work without any protection. With the help of Top Line Armor Systems based in Ohio, the Safe Surfin’ Foundation is supplying these life saving ballistic vests to police, sheriff’s deputies and college campus police across the country!

“This program has already donated new vests to officers and deputies throughout the country and I pledge to put ballistic vests on as many of our law enforcement brothers and sisters as humanely possible”.  Brown adds, “I don’t know how a councilman or board of supervisor member can sleep at night knowing that their ‘protector’ is up against the criminal element without this protection!”

 Please join Sheriff Mike Brown, his staff, Moose International and representatives from  these very appreciative agencies at this presentation event which will include the heads of VA Sheriff’s Association and VA Chiefs of Police. This event in Richmond will be the first of many that will put vests on the backs of our law enforcement heroes!

*Special note: Please be there for a surprise announcement about this program from VA Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli!

Contact: Robin Sundquist – Deputy Director SSF 540-586-7715  or through the contact form.

Protecting Kids from Online sexual predators since 1998!

FOUNDED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT, RUN BY LAW ENFORCEMENT

www.safesurfin.org

Download the PDF Press Release