Milford Police Department notified City Council that they were applying for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG), a requirement under the application process. The department has applied for and received the grant in previous years.
“This is just meeting the federal standard for us receiving the Bureau of Justice assistance,” Chief Cecilia Ashe said. “As you can see, the agencies who receive these awards are very limited. These are federal funds and since Congress was finally able to pass a budget, this was part of the funding that was included and released. We are required to put out public notice and the advertisement is displayed on the city website.”
The grant is named for Officer Edward R. Byrne, a New York City police officer who joined that force in 1987 after serving with the New York City Transit Authority. In the early morning hours of February 26, 1988, Officer Byrne was protecting a witness who was to testify against local drug dealers. Two armed gunmen crept up to his car on both sides and, while one tapped on the window to distract Officer Byrne, the other opened fire, shooting the officer five times. Officer Byrne died of his injuries at only 22 years old. The perpetrators were captured and sentenced to 25 years to life. In his memory, the Bureau of Justice Assistance administers the Byrne award to communities nationwide.
The JAG program provides critical funding to support law enforcement, prosecution, indigent defense, courts, crime prevention, education and more.
