Former University of Great Falls basketball forward John Chapman opened Tacticality Workwear at 1812 10th Ave. S., midway between Bowser Brewing and Best Wok.

Inventory includes clothes and gear for police, firefighters, prison guards, nurses, EMTs, other emergency personnel and outdoor enthusiasts.

“I used to manage a similar shop that sold Workwear gear and supplies for emergency workers, but Great Falls has not had a store like this since it closed in late 2014,” he said. “Police, emergency responders and healthcare workers need a store where they can shop for equipment, clothes and supplies that help protect their lives, while they protect ours.”

Chapman and his wife Lisa, a full-time Air Force National Guard employee, own the shop. Chapman will manage it.

The store sells equipment such as boots, fire-retardant shirts, protective vests, scrubs, handcuffs, pepper spray, flashlights and gun holsters and cleaning kits.

Some public safety departments issue a lot of protective gear for their officers, but many do not, Chapman said. He hopes to sell to departments, individual officers and health care workers, as well as people who enjoy the outdoors.