The Portage Redevelopment Commission is buying new gear for the Police Department.
Police Chief Michael Candiano outlined his funding request, including two more automatic electric defibrillators, at $700 each. “This will get us to where just about every officer in the patrol division has them,” he said.Six sets of stop sticks cost just over $3,000. “It’s a pretty important tool to have,” Candiano said. “Pursuits are everywhere. A lot of times they’re coming through town and we’re not even initiating them.”Two ATVs, purchased in 2012, will be replaced.
He is glad to have gotten a good deal on traffic cones for special events, festivals and parades, to close roads and for emergency vehicle driving courses. The police have been borrowing cones from the street department. New mats for the police station’s workout room are needed. The basic rubber floor doesn’t stand up to the weights that officers and their families lift. Three six-packs of mats total $300.
The robot was recently repaired for $1,800. “Obviously, it’s a costly thing, and keeping what we’ve got is going to be just another money pit,” he said.“We could put these in a house, building, and see what we’re up against,” Candiano said. The department has some aerial drones, but they aren’t nimble enough for this kind of application.