Protective Gear Gifted to Cartersville PD Thanks To Instructor

CARTERSVILLE, GA — Thanks to an instructor at the Bartow County Career Academy, the Cartersville Police Department now has new protective gear valued at more than $8,000.

The gift from HighCom Armor resulted from a donation made by Don Moody, a public-safety instructor at the academy, to a non-profit group dedicated to honoring fallen officers.

The group, the Officer Down Memorial Page, picked one donation during October to receive the gear. Moody’s donation won, so he chose the Cartersville Police Department to receive the gear.

Moody is a former law-enforcement officer who served for 28 years just south of Cleveland, Ohio. Now retired, he teaches public safety at the Bartow County College and Career Academy. More than 30 of his former students now hold public-safety jobs.

Moody described the Cartersville police as “very deserving” of the protective gear.

“They provide endless support of our high-school public safety program,” Moody said. “They are a wonderful bunch of officers.” In fact, Deputy Chief Jason DiPrima volunteers his time to help teach a variety of subjects throughout the school year.

“This donation comes at a perfect time as we have been working to provide new and updated protective gear to front line tactical operators,” said Lt. Ryan Firth, tactical team commander. “This gear will enable us to outfit one more team member this year.”

Cartersville Chief of Police Frank McCann thanked the Officer Down group, HighCom Armor, the Bartow Career academy and Moody for “this very generous donation.”

Visit the Officer Down Memorial Page for more information.