MHPS donate body armour to fight in Ukraine

Medicine Hat police are forwarding body armour as part of an effort by Alberta police services to gather excess equipment for donation to Ukraine.

The local service will provide enough armour plates, which fit inside vests, to make 25 sets of body army for use by authorities in the embattled country.

“The Medicine Hat Police Service is proud to join other law enforcement agencies across Alberta in donating used ballistic personal protection body armour to be used to enhance the safety of the citizens of Ukraine during the ongoing war,” said MHPS Chief Mike Worden.

The effort began in March, when the Calgary Police Service collected 450 kilograms of operational boots, shirts, toques and gloves from members at bins in stations across that city.

It was forwarded to Edmonton for transport overseas, where that city’s force added older body armour and helmets in surplus.

On Thursday, the province detailed donations that also came in from Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Camrose, the Tsuut’ina Nation and other police agencies.

The Alberta RCMP are also collecting donations of excess equipment from its members.

“The people of Alberta’s police services work diligently every day to protect others, so I’m not surprised they’ve answered the call to help save lives on the front lines in Ukraine,” said Justice Minister Tyler Shandro.

The statement says the gear is considered surplus or was removed from use due to age or specification, but is still functional. All identifying marks or insignia were removed.