Grand Prairie Church, Advocacy Group Make 100k Investment In Police Protection
GRAND PRAIRIE (CBSDFW.COM) — Protecting and serving are the roles of every police officer. But, a North Texas church congregation provided a little protection and service to a local police department Sunday.
A praise and worship service inside Grand Prairie's Gateway Church included a battalion of police officers heading to the alter to receive not only spiritual protection — but ballistic protection as well.
The church provided 50 sets of armored vests and helmets — a $100,000 investment, half of which was provided by the first responder support advocacy group Shield 616.
Jake Skifsted of Shield 616 said it meant a lot to the officers and their families.
"It gives them an opportunity to come home at the end of their shift," Skifsted said. "This equipment doesn't make law enforcement less dangerous, it's going to help them come home at the end of their shift."
The donation, according to Grand Prairie's Police Chief Steve Dye, is not just the equipment to keep officers safe — but a community investment of value and appreciation from a community they serve.
"As we saw yesterday in Houston, this is a dangerous job," Dye said. "They [Houston Police Department] lost a sergeant in the line of duty, shot and killed, so anything we can do to help protect our officers is important."