RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The Wake County Sheriff’s Office will receive a donated bulletproof K9 vest Thursday which officials hope will be the first of many.

The Wake County Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) will donate the Kevlar, or bulletproof, vest to the sheriff’s office at 2:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Public Safety Center.

The presentation will mark one of the first for new Sheriff Willie Rowe. He will be accompanied by a currently unnamed representative from the sheriff’s office K9 program, as well a, FOP President Frank Sancineto and State Trustee Rose Bean.

Bean, who said she hopes this donation is the first of several vest donations to the K9 program at the sheriff’s office, will be able to answer questions about the FOP, too.

The sheriff’s office saw an uptick in need for protection in 2022, especially after the August killing of deputy Ned Byrd.