The Jefferson Police Department recently received a statewide grant to purchase additional life-saving equipment.

Police Chief Mark Clouse says Captain Jason Kroeger applied for a grant through the Iowa Department of Public Safety as part of a mission for every first responder’s vehicle in Iowa to have a portable defibrillator with an AED. He describes the surprise his department got after the grant application was submitted and reviewed.

“We were anticipating one (AED) and when they showed up we actually received six, which is great. Now every vehicle that we own as a department, that will be responding, you have that life-saving device and that’s huge.”

Clouse points out six AEDs is about $10,000, which is no longer a burden on the taxpayer to fulfill. He adds that all officers are trained to use an AED as part of their annual CPR training.