Piles of law enforcement equipment sat stacked up outside the Orlando Police Department’s communication center Tuesday, an accumulation of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of donations that will be sent to Puerto Rico next month.
The equipment includes bullet-proof helmets and shields, laptops, Tasers and a used-but-functional radio system. Law enforcement agencies across the state donated surplus gear to the collection, which will be shipped to Puerto Rican agencies next month.
“We know what it’s like to receive help, either after a hurricane or after tragedies like Pulse from around the state and around the world,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said at a news conference. “It just pleases me to be able to extend that same type of assistance to others that are in need.”
Eleven Orlando officers visited the island in December 2017 to aid authorities there following the catastrophic Hurricane Maria, which struck the island that September. Robert Andrews, an Orlando officer on the trip, described the condition of the gear used by law enforcement agencies on the island as “sad.”
“This is a huge help for them,” he said of the donated equipment. “… It’ll definitely foster their capabilities in regards to communications and whatnot in areas where it’s… kind of deficient.”
Chief Orlando Rolón, who was born in Puerto Rico and was a deputy chief when he made the trip, said OPD sent out a state-wide request for the gear upon their return from the island.
“As soon as we came back from Puerto Rico, we came back understanding that there was a desperate need for anything that we could send back to help the agencies,” Rolón told reporters Tuesday.
The donated equipment comes from agencies as far north as the panhandle, like Mexico Beach, and police across Central Florida, including Kissimmee, Maitland, Belle Isle and others. It’s valued at roughly $900,000, Rolón said.
The destination: Aguadilla, a city on the northwest of the island. From there, the equipment will be distributed among eight municipalities on the western side, an area of the island Rolón said “has not been talked about a lot.”
“That’s where it was also mentioned to us there is a great need for this equipment,” he said.
The radio system, which OPD used until the agency switched to a new one this year, will be especially beneficial for the agencies, which are “in dire need for this type of equipment,” Rolón said.
Shipping costs will come from OPD’s civil forfeiture account, which consists of money seized during criminal investigations.
Rolón said he hopes providing the agencies with new equipment will encourage officers on the island to stay, despite continuous hardships police have faced in the wake of the storm.
“What I wish for is the conditions in Puerto Rico to improve so that those officers that are providing services there will choose to remain there and continue to service the citizens of Puerto Rico,” Rolón said. “Once you get accustomed to your way of life and your… hometown, it’s very difficult for someone to want to leave that.”
Tess Sheets can be reached at tsheets@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5020. Twitter: @sheets_tess
