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Torrington boards approve purchase of new handguns, holsters, vehicle upfitting and trailer
Summary
The Board of Public Safety and Torrington City Council approved several public-safety purchases on Oct. 20, including 90 Glock handguns and related holsters and pouches, vehicle upfitting for two cruisers, and a cargo trailer. Funding came from the department's asset forfeiture account and vehicle replacement funds.
Torrington's Board of Public Safety and the City Council voted Oct. 20 to approve multiple public-safety purchases including 90 Glock handguns, duty holsters and magazine pouches, equipment to upfit two police supervisor cruisers for patrol use, and a cargo hauler trailer.
The Board of Public Safety first moved and approved the awards before the City Council considered identical motions. The Glock purchase was described as a purchase-price total of $65,880 with a $13,500 trade-in credit applied, yielding a net expenditure of $52,380; that purchase was funded from the police department's asset-forfeiture account. Sergeant Giordano and Deputy Chief Jerome Barone answered questions for council members and commissioners during the meeting.
The council and board also approved a vendor contract under the Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium (MHEC) New England contract (MC01-F24) to buy 90 Level 3 retention duty holsters, 30 paddle/belt-loop concealment holsters and 90 open-top double magazine pouches from Whitmer Public Safety of Coatesville, Pa., for $21,374.58, funded from asset forfeiture.
Separately, the boards authorized use of state contract 22PSX0133 to upfit two Ford Explorer police interceptors with single-compartment half partitions and passenger-side-only retractable outboard seat belts so the vehicles can be used as frontline patrol cruisers. McGovern MHQ of Middletown, Conn., was named for that work at a reported cost of $8,718.34, with funding from vehicle-replacement funds.
Finally, the boards approved the purchase of a cargo-hauler trailer from Elm City Auto and Trailer of Bethany, Conn., for $12,720, again with asset-forfeiture funds.
Officials said the handgun replacement was moved forward slightly earlier than the department's usual replacement cycle following reports of unintended discharges and difficulties getting the department's current handguns accepted by some outside police academies. Deputy Chief Barone said Glocks are a standard-issue firearm nationally and the department is transitioning to them to "stay ahead of the curve." Council members asked about the age and typical lifespan of the replaced handguns; officers said the in-use handguns were roughly four-and-a-half years old, and typical replacement cycles run to about seven years.
All motions carried unanimously on voice votes recorded during the joint meeting. No additional conditions or amendments to the purchases were recorded in the meeting minutes.
