BANGOR, Maine — Thanks to a grant from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation and in memory of former police Chief Don Winslow, Bangor police officers will be a lot warmer while standing in the snow directing traffic this winter.
On Monday night, the Bangor City Council voted to accept a $25,000 grant from the foundation, which will allow the department to purchase 82 new police jackets, 82 hats and 70 blood control kits.
“Right now, our officers are wearing four different kinds of winter jackets,” most of which aren’t adequate for officers expected to stand in subzero weather for extended periods of time, according to police Chief Mark Hathaway.
Outdated equipment will be replaced with more versatile two-layer jackets, with a removable outer shell to protect officers in freezing weather and a lighter inner shell for use in spring or fall.
The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation awarded the grant in memory of late Bangor police Chief Don Winslow, who died earlier this summer after a battle with cancer. He was 57 years old and spent nearly 28 of those years with the Bangor Police Department.
Councilor Joe Baldacci called the grant a “fitting tribute” to Winslow.
The blood control kits include a tourniquet, “a critical piece of lifesaving equipment” Hathaway said he would like each patrol officer to have available in the field.
The King Foundation did not return messages requesting comment Monday.
Hathaway said the department would begin sizing the officers for their new gear before placing an order in coming weeks. He said he’d recruit an officer from within his department to model the new jackets and hats at a future council meeting.
The council also voted Monday to accept another $25,000 grant on behalf of the Bangor Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant. That will allow the departments to purchase radar and night optics equipment.
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