MANSFIELD — What started off as a simple corporate donation to the police department has become an issue after selectmen joked about the intended use of the cash.

Selectmen were asked last week to accept a $500 donation from Covidien, which, which they believed would be used by the police department to purchase a canine bulletproof vest.

There’s just one problem — the Mansfield Police Department doesn’t have a K-9 unit.

After a few laughs, the board voted unanimously to accept the donation, although O’Neill said the issue is no laughing matter.

O’Neill said he detailed the situation for the board in the memo and that the donation was not going to be used to buy any bulletproof vests. He said the mention of the vest was mentioned as part of a fundraising drive the department is supporting and was not connected to the donation. While Mansfield does not have its own police dog, O’Neill said the department uses the services of other towns’ police dogs when a need arises, and any purchased vest would be used by those dogs.

O’Neill said that any vest purchased would stay with the dog. As with humans, canine bulletproof vests must be specially fitted to the user to be effective, he explained.

Covidien spokesman David Young said the company’s donation was not designated for a specific item and could be used in any way that supported the department’s operations, meaning the department has no restrictions on how it can be spent.

“We can use it for whatever we want,” O’Neill said.

MATT KAKLEY covers Mansfield for The Sun Chronicle. He can be reached at 508-236-0333 or at mkakley@thesunchronicle.com.