Bamberg County Sheriffs Department receives $10,000 grant for new body armor vests
BAMBERG, S.C. (WJBF)- Some new upgrades are soon heading to the Bamberg County Sheriff’s Office.
The county has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the South Carolina General Assembly and SC Department of Public Safety for new body armor vests.
“The body armor—I believe it’s needed because you know all over the U.S., every day you hear about fatalities of policemen,” said Evert Comer Jr., who serves as Chairman for the Bamberg County Council.
According to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety’s Office of Highway Safety and Justice Programs (OHSJP), “The South Carolina General Assembly has designated non-recurring state funds for the purpose of providing financial assistance to local units of government for the purchase of body armor for its law enforcement officers.”
Sheriff Kenneth Bamberg says the new vests will go to 5 new officers with the department, as several deputies were given vests 3 years ago–and are still in good shape.
“In 2021 when I took office, the deputies that worked with us all got issued brand new vests, which were manufactured in 2021 with a 5-year life expectancy. We’re not going to need to replace those until 2025 or 2026,” Bamberg said.
County Administrator Joey Preston says it’s another step forward for the Sheriffs department.
“It was just a few years ago—before Sheriff Bamberg was elected—that a lot of our equipment in the Sheriff’s Office was old, it was dated. By applying for these types of grants, by cooperating with my staff members, we’ve been able to find and locate these sources and pretty much reequip his entire department,” said Preston.
“We need to keep supply coming to like I said, boost the chorale, and make the Sheriffs department all of what it can be for Bamberg County,” said Comer Jr.
Officials say the next step in the process is for Public Safety to clear funds.
Once that is done, the Sheriffs department will order the body armor.
They are hoping to get the new body armor vests to the officers in the next 3 months.
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