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Westchester Police Round Up Vests For Dominican Republic

YONKERS, N.Y. – Some Westchester County police departments are cleaning out their closets to help their brothers in blue overseas.

Working with the Westchester Hispanic Law Enforcement Association, eight departments have dusted off more than 100 surplus bulletproof vests, preparing to send the body armor to the Dominican Republic.

Officials from the Dominican National Police will be in Yonkers next month to accept a donation that organizers say is desperately needed.

“There are a lot of officers around the entire Dominican country that don’t have the financial means to purchase or acquire the safety gear we have been benefited with here in the Northeast,” said Ezekiel Serrano, who spearheaded the vest collection. “We thought we should lend our support to the Dominican Republic.”

Serrano kicked off the drive last year after receiving a call from a friend involved in the training of Dominican police officers. Serrano said his friend asked if he could help by getting “four or five” bulletproof vests to be donated to the country's police.

Soon after reaching out to various departments in Westchester, Serrano and his team had rounded up the requested vests and dozens more. Serrano said all of the donated vests are surplus that had been stashed away in various departments after being replaced with newer body armor.

“We realized they lacked the proper equipment and took the request and ran with it,” he said. “It turned into a substantial donation for the Dominican police.”

According to New York City Detective Thomas McNamara, these types of donations are badly needed.

Working with Leon Alter, president of the International Law and Security Association, McNamara has been helping organize donations of various police equipment from New York City and other agencies around the country.

The detective painted a bleak picture of the law enforcement scene in the Dominican Republic, saying he has seen an “archaic” system in which many officers don’t have protective vests, gun holsters or even handcuffs. Some even have to call taxis to take them to crime scenes because of a lack of cars, he said.

“Sadly, they are given poor support from their own government and are expected to keep their communities safe,” McNamara said.

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