Boardman shields its police cars

BOARDMAN — Township trustees approved spending nearly $5,000 for equipment designed to protect police officers.

The board met in special session Friday and voted to buy 18 protective Kevlar shields designed for the trunks of Ford Crown Victoria police vehicles. The shields cost about $271 each and will be purchased from Donnell Ford, Boardman.

“We instituted an inspection of all of our Crown Victorias and found that 18 of them don’t have the shields in the trunk,” said Chief Patrick Berarducci.

Most of Boardman’s fleet, about 20 cars, already have the protective shields, the chief said. Those without it are primarily the older cruisers and unmarked police vehicles.

He said the department conducted the inspection after Austintown police officer Ross Linert was critically injured earlier this week when a woman struck the rear of his cruiser. Impact caused the gas tank to explode, catching the car on fire.

For more, see Saturday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com