Aldermen To Vote On Buying New Riot Gear For Aurora Police

AURORA, IL — The Aurora City Council is expected to vote next week on whether to buy new riot gear for the city’s police force.

The council’s Committee of the Whole voted this week to send a proposal to spend about $89,000 on riot gear for a vote from the full City Council. If approved next week, the city would buy 150 sets of riot gear from Pro-Tech of Ohio.

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Some who spoke before the council during discussions about the riot gear have said it will further militarize the Aurora Police Department, while others called it a necessary purchase after businesses were looted May 31 amid a large downtown demonstration protesting the killing of Black people by police.

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Martin Lyons, the city’s chief financial officer, said the city’s police department currently has 50 sets of riot gear that are at least two decades old, according to a report by the Aurora Beacon-News.

City officials are also working toward equipping Aurora police officers with body cameras, but that process may not be complete until June 2021, the Beacon-News reports.

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