SUQUAMISH — The Suquamish Tribal Police Department will be receiving much needed upgrades to its equipment soon, allowing its officers to use the latest technology while patrolling the Port Madison community.

The agency was recently awarded a $198,705 federal grant by the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), under the COPS Tribal Resources Grant Program. Suquamish was one of 80 tribal law enforcement agencies nationwide and one of 12 in Washington state to receive such an award.

The grant, plus a $75,000 match provided by the Suquamish Police, will help purchase a variety of equipment for the force, including new portable radios, handguns, bulletproof vests and other protective gear, new mobile data terminals for patrol cars, a new police car, replacement uniforms, including jumpsuits, boots, patches and badges, and diving gear.

“We have a pretty extensive fisheries enforcement program here,” said Suquamish Tribal Police Chief Mike Lasnier.

The grant will allow the department to train new personnel in diving techniques and use of the equipment, which can also be used in search and rescue operations.

Police will also be installing new cameras in the patrol cars.

Lasnier said the patrol camera “proved its worth” during an incident earlier this year in which a Suquamish Police officer was involved in a shooting

“It helped resolve quite a few issues with that shooting,” he explained.

In addition, Lasnier will be able to purchase defensive tactic training equipment and pay for advanced training for his officers. Recently, the department, which just formed its first ever tactical tracking team, competed in a regional event and was named best overall team, beating out some SWAT teams, Lasnier said.