NEW YORK (AP) – The day after a bullet blasted through a passenger window of an RV-like command post and killed a police officer sitting inside, officials on Thursday announced that the New York Police Department was adding ballistic protection to all 72 of the vehicles in its fleet.
The mobile command centers hadn’t originally been part of a plan to retrofit all of the department’s squad cars with inch-thick bullet-resistant glass and armored door panels capable of stopping a round from a .44 Magnum – a response to the killing of two officers in 2014.
That changed with Wednesday’s fatal shooting of Officer Miosotis Familia by a lone gunman suspected of having mental problems. It immediately raised questions about the omission of the command centers, especially since the vehicles, which often are planted in high-crime neighborhoods for weeks, might actually be more vulnerable.
City Hall announced on Thursday that it would spend $1.3 million to retrofit the command posts with bullet-resistant door panels and side windows. It said windshields can’t be replaced because current technology doesn’t allow for their curvature.
“Together, as we mourn the loss of Officer Familia, we are reminded of our sense of community and that the safety of our men and women in blue who patrol our city every day to protect the lives of New Yorkers is paramount,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.