US Police Have So Much Extra Gear They’re Sending It to Ukraine

Police departments around the U.S. are donating tactical gear to Ukraine, whose annual defense budget is smaller than the NYPD’s.  

Law enforcement agencies in several states have all announced in recent days that they’re donating dozens of pieces of body armor, such as ballistic helmets and vests. Some of the departments and their respective local partners—one of which is a top defense contractor with U.S. and Ukrainian government contracts—say the donations will be distributed to Ukrainian citizens under siege by the Russian military. 

State law enforcement agencies in Colorado and Vermont both announced Wednesday that they were donating defensive equipment to Ukraine. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said the state’s policing agencies were “coordinating an effort to donate used and expired body-armor vests to military units in Ukraine,” and the Vermont State Police also encouraged members of the public to donate their own body armor as long as it’s rated Level III or higher by the Department of Justice’s research arm—capable of protecting against some rifle rounds, in other words.