Syracuse approves grants for additional police, fire equipment

By Nick Robertson
The Daily Orange

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Common Council approved over $300,000 in federal grants for new police and fire equipment at its meeting Monday.

New equipment for the Syracuse Police Department includes $75,000 toward SWAT team equipment and protective security detail training and $53,000 toward new body armor for the department’s Public Order Unit — officers tasked with handling protests in the city. An additional $50,000 will be spent to build a fence around the Townsend Street police station’s parking lot.

Fire Department funding will be used to purchase new thermal imaging cameras to identify people inside burning buildings when there is no visibility. The department’s current inventory of cameras are at the end of their operational lives, according to the Syracuse Fire Department.

Full story: Common Council approves grants for additional police, fire equipment