Body armor in Pines becomes essential

Not that they shouldn’t have it, but you have to wonder what the world’s coming to when the police officers in one of the quietest, most peaceful communities in the three-state region need bulletproof vests.

This is no knock on the Ocean Pines Police Department or its request for a state grant to help pay for equipment that’s due for an upgrade. This is just the way things are these days, as smaller law enforcement agencies across the country add and deploy more specialized gear … just in case. Like, for instance, the tactical vehicles such as the one Ocean City’s department has and the county sheriff’s office awaits.

In some cases, they are encouraged to rachet up their defenses, as was the situation a few years ago when a federal grant administrator suggested that the National Resources Police accept money to have a .30-caliber machine gun mounted on the bow of its patrol boat.

It declined the offer, noting that rockfish poachers or boaters failing to observe the 6 mph speed limits in the bay aren’t inclined to shoot their way out of a ticket.

But that’s where we are as the national conversation continues to reinforce the belief that we should be scared, really scared, and that anyone who doesn’t agree is anti-police.

That is just not so, as most people do recognize the dangers law enforcement officers face every day. Here’s what the FBI said about that in May: “The number of officers assaulted and injured by firearms has climbed over the years, reaching a 10-year high in 2023 with approximately 466 officers assaulted and injured by firearms.”

Even though the FBI says most of these incidents occurred in the South, this number justifies the use of body armor by agencies and departments everywhere. It’s just a shame that Ocean Pines, of all places, has to follow suit.