Gainesville Police will be shopping for a new pawed partner and medical equipment with some of Gainesville residents’ lunch money.
The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation recently awarded Gainesville Police $20,300 to buy eight automated external defibrillators and a new police dog.
The grant is part of a $300,000 donation from Firehouse Sub’s nonprofit organization to 16 law enforcement agencies and fire departments across northeast Florida and southeast Georgia.
GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias, Capt. Ed Posey, Officer Jeff Kerkau and his police dog, Roo, will receive the grant in Jacksonville today.
Tobias said he was excited about the foundation’s grant to the department.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “Any time we have a community partner that can help serve the public better, we’re all for it.”
With the grant, Tobias said GPD would start the search for the department’s newest canine on Thursday.
Founded in 2005, the foundation works to provide funding, lifesaving equipment and educational opportunities to public safety officials by raising money through in-store donations when customers round up their bill.
The foundation has donated more than $5.2 million to local fire and police departments, about $1.1 million of which was donated to agencies in Florida, according to a company press release.
Tobias said he looks forward to adding a new police dog to the unit, as well as buying the new defibrillators.
“That’s eight more chances for us to save a life,” he said.
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
