The Van Wert County Courthouse

Friday, Mar. 29, 2024

Ohio A-G donates PPEs to sheriff’s office

VW independent/submitted information

COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Thursday announced the donation of critical personal protective equipment (PPE) from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) to sheriff’s departments across the state.

“Our mission at BCI is to support local law enforcement — usually by processing a crime scene or DNA — but today, we are donating the PPE critically needed by first responders,” Yost said. “This pandemic requires everyone to do their part, and we’re proud to chip in with these supplies.”

Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office deputies pose with personal protection equipment (PPE) donated to the local department by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Office. photo provided

BCI’s laboratory is donating over 30,000 gloves, 1,428 masks, 642 lab coats, and other various items of clothing. These supplies will shield first responders during the current national shortage of PPE.

“These critical supplies will help protect deputies as we continue to operate our jails and patrol the streets,” said Auglaize County Sheriff Allen Solomon, president of the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association. “We’re grateful to Attorney General Yost for this much-needed donation.”

The PPE donations are being directed to some of the smallest sheriff’s offices across the state, which often have stretched budgets and may have the greatest need for supplies. Sheriff’s offices receiving PPE include: Adams, Carroll, Clinton, Coshocton, Fayette, Gallia, Hardin, Harrison, Henry, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Morrow, Noble, Paulding, Perry, Pike, Putnam, Union, Van Wert, Vinton, and Wyandot counties.

Van Wert County Sheriff Thomas M. Riggenbach was also grateful for the PPEs.

“I want to say ‘thank you’ to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost for the donation of PPE to the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office,” the sheriff said. “These critical items will be very beneficial to the deputies, correction officers, and other employees of the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office, as we continue to provide service to the public in Van Wert County during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In addition to the PPE donations, masks used by BCI while processing evidence during its normal course of business will be sent to Battelle’s Critical Care Decontamination System, which sterilizes masks, allowing for their reuse.

POSTED: 04/17/20 at 9:25 pm. FILED UNDER: News