The New York State Senate has allocated $4 million from the state's budget to bulletproof the New York Police Department's fleet of patrol cars and mobile command units, according to the New York Post.
The push to install bulletproof windows and door panels comes after the murder of Officer Miosotis Familia on July 5. Familia was shot and killed by Alexander Bond, an ex-felon who hated cops, while sitting in an NYPD mobile command unit in The Bronx.
“It’s definitely going to help save lives, protect lives,” said state Senator Martin Golden, according to the Post. “We could have saved Officer Familia’s life if we had bulletproof protection."
“We’re in the process of retrofitting all of our… police cars… we started the vehicles that are on patrol right now,” NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said, according to the Post.
Bullet-proof panels will be installed on the NYPD's full 72 command units and 3,800 patrol cars, according to the Post. The effort will cost $1.3 million, according to a spokesperson for Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Done by the end of the year. $1.3m well-spent. https://t.co/e92GcraEbK
— Eric Phillips (@EricFPhillips) July 6, 2017
Previously, the city had pledged to install the panels on all of its patrol cars following the killing of Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in 2014.
New York State Trooper Joel Davis was also shot and killed Sunday evening by an Army infantryman during an apparent domestic dispute in Theresa, New York, according to police.