AKRON, Ohio — The city of Akron is working to purchase new ballistic plates after the city learned its SWAT officers were using bogus body armor. The city's police department is now part of a larger federal investigation.
The Department of Homeland Security warned the department about the “counterfeit” plates, according to Akron Police Captain Agostino Micozzi during a public safety committee meeting this week.
During that meeting, Micozzi asked for and city council unanimously voted in favor of paying about $60,000 to buy 40 sets of ballistic plates. Micozzi said each set of plates cost around $1,300.
“These are the types of plates that stop rifle rounds,” Captain Micozzi told council members. “The normal body armor that we have day-to-day, that is all fine. This is just for those moments when they are in the highest risk situations where they need the most protection.”
It’s a big purchase for this kind of police equipment. The city normally buys the plates over a five-year period. But this time Micozzi told council members “we need to replace them all.”
A police department spokesman told 3News it’s his understanding that ShotStop Ballistics LLC is accused of supplying the bogus armor. Court documents show ShotStop filed for bankruptcy earlier this month.
The company used to have its headquarters in Stow. A neighbor of the now vacant building said they moved out in the last few months.
3News reached out to the Department of Homeland Security about the investigation. In response, a spokesperson said, “Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in collaboration with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, executed a federal search warrant in the Stow, Ohio area Oct. 18, 2023. This investigation remains ongoing.”
“We are cooperating with the Department of Homeland Security and their investigation,” Micozzi said. “Somewhere down the line there may be an opportunity for restitution on this, so we will be pursuing that and we will be following it very closely. But in the meantime, in order to keep our high-risk operations operators safe, we need to replace these plates.”
3News reached out to the city of Akron about this matter. A spokesperson referred us to the police department and police pointed us to this week’s city council meetings.