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Wythe County approves ballistic vests for EMS crews, sheriff offers photo-enforcement funds
Summary
The board authorized purchase of ballistic vests to station on ambulances for EMS providers responding to high-risk scenes; the sheriff offered to contribute photo-enforcement revenue to fund the purchase and the board approved the expenditure.
The Wythe County Board of Supervisors authorized the purchase of ballistic vests for EMS personnel on Jan. 27, saying the equipment will be staged on ambulances for crews responding to potentially dangerous scenes.
Deputy county administrator Hankins described recent incidents that prompted the request and said Chief Parnell discussed vest use with the sheriff. "We're not asking to purchase bulletproof vests for each and every provider, but to put enough vests on each ambulance that EMS providers on shift could grab one if they're going into a high-risk situation," Hankins said. The sheriff offered to endorse using some photo-enforcement revenue to cover the cost.
Board members acknowledged the safety rationale and approved the purchase in a roll-call vote. Chair thanked the sheriff for the funding offer and praised staff for identifying the need.
Funding note: Speakers said the county plans to use photo-enforcement fine revenue (described during public comments and staff discussion) to fund the approximate $14,000 purchase; commenters cautioned against overreliance on that revenue if state law or policy changes affect photo-enforcement income.
Next steps: Staff will coordinate the purchase and report back on procurement details and exact funding splits once invoices are finalized.
