Parma Police Department grant will help replace outdated TASERs

PARMA, Ohio - The Parma Police Department applied for and has received a grant of nearly $15,000 to cover the cost of replacing outdated TASERs. The grant was awarded by the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Ohio Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) division. The OCJS division receives Federal money each year to support the Edward Byrnes Memorial Justice Assistance Grant – Local Law Enforcement (Ohio JAG LLE) grant fund.

“The City and the Police Department are very appreciative of this award, because obviously, the money we saved can be used for other necessities in our budget,” said Mayor Tim DeGeeter.  “We are proud of the excellent work by our police department and this helps us to make sure their equipment is as up-to-date as possible.”

Parma applied for a grant to cover the replacement of 20 TASERs, which are carried by police officers.  Currently, the TASERs in use by the Parma Police are outmoded and because TASER has discontinued that model, it can’t be repaired or have parts replaced. The amount awarded will cover replacement of 15 TASERS.

Parma’s request was $19,379.12 to replace 20 TASERs; the City’s local match for that grant would have been $2,153.13. The actual grant award from OCJS awarded was $14,843.47 and requires a city match of $1,649.28.

The replacement TASERs must be purchased by August.

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