The Gwinnett County Police Department’s nine-member K-9 unit is receiving new ballistic vests with money raised in honor of Blue, a Gwinnett K-9 killed in a September shootout.
The county commission earlier this year accepted a donation of almost $11,000 from the Georgia Police K9 Foundation for the vests, which are made to protect dogs’ vital organs. They are crafted from the same material as ballistic vests for human officers, according to a county news release.
The donation will outfit the entire K-9 unit and replace vests that are soon to expire, Chief of Police J.D. McClure wrote in a memo to the county business manager.
The vests are made by Canada-based LOF Defence Systems.
The Georgia Police K9 Foundation created a K9 Blue Memorial fund to raise the money, according to a letter from Kyle Briley, the organization’s president and founder. Blue’s name is also being placed on the K-9 line-of-duty death memorial at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, Briley told Gwinnett police.
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