Gladstone police to seek $50,000 state grant for rifle plates, UTV and GPS tracking darts

The Gladstone Police Chief told the City Council on July 28 that the city plans to apply for roughly $50,000 from a Missouri Blue Shield grant program to buy personally assigned rifle plates, a utility task vehicle for parks and events, and a StarChase GPS tracking system for patrol cars. The chief said the city—xpects to file the grant application by Sept. 2 and would return to council at a future meeting with the formal application as an agenda item.

The chief said the Blue Shield program was a state-allocated grant pool of about $10 million for local law enforcement; Gladstone—een notified its share is about $50,000. He recommended three purchases that he said align with the council—rime prevention, traffic enforcement and recruitment and retention priorities: rifle plates that protect against rifle rounds, one utility off-road vehicle (UTV) for park and event use, and a StarChase vehicle-mounted GPS tagging system to reduce risky pursuits.

The rifle plates would be Point Blank Body Armor Omega-series plates the chief said fit officers—xternal carriers, weigh under a pound, and cost about $400 each. He proposed outfitting uniform patrol officers at a roughly $10,600 total cost. The UTV the department identified is a 450cc utility vehicle with turn signals, horn and mirrors, seating for four or a flip-down rear cargo area; the vendor quoted a 40-month extended warranty for a total of $5,000. The chief described the StarChase package as a launcher with unlimited darts, installation, a four- to five-year warranty and training to certify up to eight in-house trainers; the quote for two vehicles was $33,400.

"The total cost of all the equipment that we listed is right at $50,000," the chief said, adding staff adjusted vendor proposals to stay within the target amount. He said the rifle plates are personally assigned so officers can either carry them full time or insert them into an external carrier when a call indicates elevated risk.

On StarChase, the chief described a small adhesive GPS unit that deploys from a launcher and adheres to a suspect vehicle so officers can stop tracking the vehicle at a distance and monitor its movement on a computer. He said the system can be shared with surrounding agencies and, in some jurisdictions, by helicopter units.

Council members asked about operational details. One council member asked how the two StarChase-equipped cars would be staged; the chief said, "ideally, when the district assignments go out for that night, if we could keep one on the east side and one on the west side," but acknowledged units will respond to assigned calls. Asked whether the system would be incorporated into the city eparture from pursuit policy, the chief said yes and described the system as a tool to reduce the need for vehicle pursuits and to end pursuits more quickly: "The quicker that we can get out of those pursuits, the better." He said agencies that use StarChase include Lee's Summit and Independence, which provided positive feedback.

The chief identified recurring operational details and costs: plates average $400 each (total about $10,600), the UTV vendor offered the vehicle plus a 40-month extended warranty for $5,000, and the two-vehicle StarChase package totaled $33,400. He estimated StarChase subscription/replacement darts at about $1,600 per unit per year and said useful life for the technology is uncertain but often 5— years depending on use. He noted the department had pursued vehicles "not very often" this year, perhaps "not even half a dozen."

The chief said the city would hold the UTV stock pending council approval and that body armor and StarChase deliveries depend on manufacturer lead times. He invited council questions and said he would return with the grant application as an agenda item at the next council meeting before any purchase or contract was executed.

Council did not vote on the purchases at the July 28 meeting; staff reported intent to submit the application and seek council approval of any purchases or agreements in a subsequent agenda item.

Smaller operational notes: the chief said the UTV would be stored in an available bay below City Hall, and local certification for StarChase installation would rely on upfitters the city currently uses. He named Point Blank Body Armor as the plate vendor and noted the StarChase package included training and installation. The chief said he had contacted other agencies using StarChase and received favorable reports.

The council did not take formal action on the grant or equipment purchases on July 28; the chief said staff would return with the application for council consideration before purchases would proceed.