Roseville PD gets arsenal of ammunition, 91 helmets

The City Council bought 91 new helmets and a stockpile of bullets last week for Roseville Police. Like other California law enforcement agencies, Roseville Police have ongoing requirements for body armor and ammunition, authorities said. The National Institute of Justice sets safety standards for law enforcement body armor, including replacement, every five years. Roseville PD has 91 tactical helmets due for decommission. Police staff recommended buying the "Operator Elite" model from Black Box Safety Inc., for $75,500 total. Funding of $40,000 was included in the fiscal-year 2025-26 budget. The remaining $35,500 will be paid for from the RPD equipment replacement fund. The purchase order will "piggyback" off of a competitively selected Nationwide Sourcewell body armor service. The helmets are otherwise $1,500 or so apiece retail, according to the Black Box website. The department also purchased ammo to use in the Glock models 45, 17 and 34 duty pistols, plus the department AR-15 and M4 rifles. The weapons are used by Roseville PD patrol officers and regional SWAT team, staff said. The City Council approved the sole source ammo orders with Miwall Corporation for $112,058, and San Diego Police Equipment for $81,936. The combined total of $193,995 is for the current fiscal year to provide police ammo, staff said. The FBI and International Wound Ballistics Association established criteria for bullet performance. The Hornady Critical Duty handgun ammunition and Speer LE rifle bullets have undergone extensive testing by the FBI and meet or exceed all ballistic criteria, PD staff said in the council report. The testing criteria includes terminal performance into ballistic gelatin after penetrating established barriers such as auto glass, drywall, plywood, sheet metal and heavy clothing. The Roseville Police Department has conducted the same testing and agrees with the FBI findings about ammo performance. Additionally, the two are extremely reliable and rarely jam or otherwise malfunction, authorities said. Hornady Ammunition has an exclusive distributorship with Miwall Corporation for the Northern California area, so it's Roseville's only available source for the purchase of the Hornady ammunition. Speer LE Ammunition has an exclusive distributorship with San Diego Police Equipment for the state of California and therefore is Roseville's only available source for the purchase of the Speer LE ammunition. The City Council approved the purchases Sept. 17 during the non-controversial consent agenda.