Chandler Police Receives Community Support For New Bulletproof Vests

All it took was one Facebook post for the Chandler Police Department to get overwhelming support from the community.

Chief Matthew Mattheyer took it in his own hands to raise money for new bulletproof vests for his officers. He said the vests weren’t budgeted this year because of the budget shortfall.

The officers in Chandler are currently wearing vests that are more than eight years old. The typical life span of a bulletproof vest is five years.

“I feel it’s my responsibility to make sure that they are protected with all the gear they can be protected with,” said Mattheyer.

He posted it on the ‘Chandler PD’ Facebook page, created a GoFundMe page, and in less than two days, they reached their goal. Since then, the GoFundMe page has been taken down and the chief is going to purchase the new vests right away.

Five-thousand dollars was raised for 10 vests. He has 10 full time officers.

“With everything that is going on, police officers are being targeted and we need all; the gear we can to help protect ourselves so that we can go back to our family at night,” said Mattheyer.