(John Ransom, Headline USA) Police in New York City, already under siege by a surge in crime, have a new worry: Someone stole 400 bulletproof vests believed to have been donated by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office for civilian law-enforcement and medical authorities in Ukraine, according to ABC News.
VESTS STOLEN: Officials say about 400 bulletproof vests destined for Ukraine were stolen from the office of a NYC non-profit organization. #njmorningshttps://t.co/fBD80ZTd5P
— News12NJ (@News12NJ) March 17, 2022
“It is despicable that someone would break into a building to steal supplies and materials intended to aid those affected by this humanitarian crisis,” said Vicki DiStefano, a spokesperson for Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr.
The vests were part of a consignment of decommissioned equipment that had been collected by a charity and was scheduled to be shipped via air to Poland before making its way to Ukraine, said the New York Post.
DiStefano could not absolutely verify that the vests were part of the Suffolk County donation, but she pledged the county would cooperate with the NYPD in order to investigate the theft.
“We offer the NYPD any assistance it needs in locating these stolen items,” DiSetafano told the Post.
In February, the NYPD announced that major crimes in the city were up over 38% this year, with rape up 27%; robbery up 33%; felony assault up about 12%; and burglary up 6%—while murder was down fractionally over last year, said New York’s local NBC affiliate.
The increase in crime comes amid widespread criticism of Manhattan’s far-left, George-Soros-funded district attorney, Alvin Bragg, for his refusal to prosecute some petty crimes while reducing charges for more serious ones.
The current spike began under former Mayor Bill de Blasio and Trump-obsessed Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr.
Nonetheless, critics—including the widow of slain police officer Jason Rivera—have largely blamed Bragg for the crime wave.
“I know you were tired of these laws,” Dominique Luzuriaga Rivera said at her husband’s funeral in January, addressing her deceased husband directly about the soft-on-crime policies that got him killed. “Especially the ones from the new D.A. I hope he’s watching you speak through me right now.”
Now, to make matters even worse for the NYPD, the bad guys have 400 bulletproof vests that should be used against the Russian gangsters in Ukraine, not the American gangsters in NYC.
