Baltimore-based Under Armour has already taken on the world of sports apparel. Could police gear be next?
On Wednesday, the city's spending panel is set to clear the way for the company to give the Baltimore Police Department new uniforms for officers in one district. The project is described in city documents as a "collaboration" between the police and Under Armour to "potentially improve the quality and durability of police uniforms and relieve some strain on the Police Department budget."
"They approached us well over a year ago," said Capt. J. Eric Kowalczyk, a police spokesman. "It's something we are very excited about."
Baltimore police officials said talks between the government and the company are in the preliminary stages. The department doesn't know what the uniforms might look like or how many the company would supply the force. "This is the process where we begin to have the conversation," Kowalczyk said.
Under Armour did not respond to requests for comment. The company features tactical and military gear on its website, and has won $4.2 million in contracts from the U.S. Department of Defense.
The Police Department spends millions of dollars on uniforms for the 2,800-officer force. Last year alone, the agency spent nearly $1.3 million on uniforms, including a November authorization from the Board of Estimates to pay $590,000 to two Baltimore-based firms, the Howard Uniform Co. and F&F and A. Jacobs & Sons Inc.
The spending panel, which is controlled by the mayor, is expected to endorse an ethics waiver on Wednesday for the Police Department to seek the uniforms as a gift from Under Armour. The city documents say Under Armour will receive no "special access or favored treatment from any City agency or official," as a result of the gift.
Comptroller Joan M. Pratt, who sits on the five-member board, said she wants more information before voting for the deal. She added she's concerned a gift could be a way for the company to gain an advantage over other firms seeking to outfit the Police Department.
"Generally, I would have some concerns if the Under Armour product became the standard for uniforms. No other vendor would have the same advantage," Pratt said. "It might limit others from responding" to a future request for bids.
Kevin Plank, Under Armour's founder, helped build his business by giving samples of his compression T-shirts to football players. Under Armour's goal is to grow from $3 billion in sales to $10 billion eventually, he told The Baltimore Sun last year.
City Councilman Brandon Scott, vice chairman of the public safety committee, said he supports the idea of Under Armour supplying Baltimore police with uniforms, but he wants to make sure the gift complies with ethical standards.
"Once we know it's OK for us to do, I think if a company in Baltimore is expanding into that market and we know people from Baltimore work in that factory, ultimately it will be a great thing for everyone," Scott said.
John DeCarlo, police studies coordinator at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said he's interested to see what innovations Under Armour might make to police uniforms. He said if the athletic wear giant wants to enter the police uniform market, it will have big competition among some well-established companies, such as Blauer Manufacturing Co.
"Right now, we have more officers wearing a bulletproof vest than ever before and underneath they need clothing to keep them cool and dispel moisture," he said.
Police uniforms are regularly evolving, DeCarlo said, from the 1800s, when officers in America dressed in heavy wool in the style of British bobbies, to the 1950s, when police wore doubled-breasted peacoats in winter months. More recently, some departments have moved from eight-point hats and dress pants to baseball caps and cargo pants with lots of pockets, where they can store chemical masks, handcuffs and other items, he said.
Baltimore's current police uniforms are a blend of cotton and polyester, the department said.
"Who drives the change in uniforms is not usually the police themselves but the manufacturers of the uniforms," DeCarlo said. "They went from wool to leather to Gore-Tex."
There are between 700,000 and 1 million police officers in the U.S., depending on how the role is defined, DeCarlo said.
Under Armour has a history of making charitable contributions in Baltimore.
In October, the company helped pay about $42,000 for the renovation of three Fire Department gyms. The donations, which came as part of a city firehouse renovation project, included strength and cardiovascular training equipment, new floor mats and fresh paint. Under Armour also helped pay for a multipurpose synthetic turf field in Locust Point's Latrobe Park last summer. The value of that work was not disclosed at the time.
Under Armour also has made donations to the city police. The company joined the Baltimore Community Foundation and the Baltimore Police Foundation in 2011 in donating $300,000 for the Southern District to buy equipment, including 30 desktop computers, eight police bicycles, gym upgrades, 20 Tasers and other items.
Ann K. Buchholtz, research director for Rutgers University's Institute for Ethical Leadership, said the city's spending panel should review the proposal carefully to vet any potential conflict of interests.
"The public should know about it; sunshine is the best disinfectant," Buchholtz said. "If they review it and there is no expectation of quid pro quo, I would be OK with it."
While Under Armour may be looking to use the donations as an edge in the market, Buchholtz said, it's not unusual for civic-minded companies to make charitable contributions to the cities where they are based.
"Cities need that kind of support," she said. "We don't want to cut that off, but we always want to take a good look at it."
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