NEW YORK CITY — The city will put up more than $1 million to make all NYPD vehicles bullet-resistant after an officer was shot and killed inside a mobile command unit, police said.
It's part of more than $17 million already funded to add bullet-resistant panels and inserts to the doors and windows of more than 3,800 patrol cars after Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were ambushed inside their cars in 2014.
Police Officer Brian Moore was also shot and killed inside his vehicle in 2015.
“Together, as we mourn the loss of Officer [Miosotis] 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.
Familia, 48, was inside a police mobile command post at 12:30 a.m. on July 5 when she was shot in the head by Alexander Bonds, 34, whose girlfriend had reported hours earlier to police after he was acting erratically, officials said. Bonds was later shot and killed by police after a brief foot chase.
On Thursday, NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill discussed the plan to add the bullet-resistant technology to all NYPD vehicles used by officers out in the field.
When asked about funding, he said it's "not going to be an issue."
Funding for the project comes from a mix of city tax levy and asset forfeiture funds, officials said.
Since the NYPD began the program in 2016, bullet-resistant panels have been installed on 2,100 patrol vehicles — with all 3,800 to be finished by the end of the year. Bullet-resistant windows will be completed on 500 cars within the next two weeks.
“My goal as the police commissioner is to do whatever I can to protect and equip our police officers,” O'Neill said in a statement.
