Torrington approves purchase of 90 Glock handguns, holsters, cruiser upfits and cargo trailer; purchases funded largely from asset forfeiture

The Board of Public Safety and the Torrington City Council on Oct. 20 approved a package of equipment purchases and vehicle upfits for the Torrington Police Department, including the purchase of 90 Glock handguns, replacement holsters and magazine pouches, upfitting of two supervisor Ford Explorers, and acquisition of a cargo hauler trailer.

Board leaders said the handgun change was prompted by recent reports of unintended discharges with the department’s current firearms and by restrictions at some police academies on the weapon models the department now carries. Sergeant Giordano and Deputy Chief Jerome explained the department’s shift to Glocks during the joint meeting; Jerome said the department wanted “to stay ahead of this curve and to transition to the Glock firearm.” Sergeant Giordano told the boards the current handguns are about four and a half years old; he and other staff noted the typical service life is longer but the department is replacing weapons sooner because of the operational issues reported.

The Board of Public Safety awarded the handgun purchase to Amchar Wholesale of Rochester, New York. The motion, as read at the meeting, described a purchase price of $65,880 with a $13,500 trade-in value for the existing SIG Sauer weapons, yielding a net total reported in the motion of $52,380. The board voted to authorize the contract; the City Council then approved the same motion by voice vote.

On accessories, the board and council approved using a Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium (MHEC) New England contract (MC01-F24) to buy level-3 retention duty holsters (90), concealment holsters (30 paddle/belt-loop), and 90 open-top double magazine pouches from Whitmer Public Safety/Officer Store of Coatesville, Pennsylvania for $21,374.58. Council members asked whether the consortium procurement route was appropriate; staff and the deputy chief explained the consortium/state-contract approach lets municipalities “piggyback” on competitively bid pricing.

The boards also authorized work to upfit two police supervisor vehicles (Ford Explorer police interceptors) with single-compartment Procell half partitions and passenger-side only retractable outboard seat belts so the vehicles can be used as frontline cruisers. McGovern MHQ of Middletown, Connecticut was named to perform the upfitting, with work and parts funded from the vehicle replacement account; the total quoted at the meeting was $8,718.34.

Finally, the boards approved purchasing a cargo hauler trailer from Elm City Auto and Trailer of Bethany, Connecticut for $12,720. Like the handgun and accessory buys, the trailer was to be paid from the asset forfeiture account.

All motions on these four items were carried by voice vote at both the Board of Public Safety and the City Council. Where motion makers were recorded, Board motions were moved by Commissioner McLeod and seconded by Commissioner McElroy; Council motions on the firearm purchase were moved by Councilman Waldron and seconded by Councilman Veil. The meeting record shows no roll-call tallies for these items—each passed on a voice vote.

Next steps: staff said they will proceed with the purchases and schedule delivery/installation of the holsters and vehicle equipment. The handgun order reflects a trade-in arrangement described on the record; procurement documents will record the final contract amounts and delivery timeline.