Dallas police may require officers to wear bulletproof vests

WFAA ^ | March 2. 2011 | REBECCA LOPEZ

[Immerito]

DALLAS — Body armor can stop a bullet and save a life, but some police officers do not use the equipment.

That is about to change at the Dallas Police Department.

Officers may soon be required to wear a bulletproof vest or else the city will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal money.

We remember the scenes and their names. Officers who were shot in the line of duty. Some were saved by wearing their body armor.

Senior Cpl. Brian Jones is on the streets every day. He knows the price he could pay if he is shot in the line of duty without the protective gear.

“It's really not even an option," Jones said. "I would never choose not to wear it."

A recent report showed officers are 14 times more likely to be killed if they are not wearing a vest, but some still do not use them.

[Thane_Banquo]

I thought requiring a vest was already SOP for virtually all police forces in the country.

[Thane_Banquo]

I thought requiring a vest was already SOP for virtually all police forces in the country.

[backwoods-engineer]

The only time these vests save lives is when a) cops actually wear them; b) the bad guys only have pistol-caliber firearms; c) the bad guys can't make a head shot; and/or d) the cops stay behind additional cover.

These vests are not some magic Star Trek shield. All it takes is a decent centerfire deer rifle caliber to take out someone in a vest. And less that that if a head shot is made.

[Immerito]

That’s what I thought as well.

[Immerito]

You learn something new every day.

Thank you,

[backwoods-engineer]

I thought requiring a vest was already SOP for virtually all police forces in the country.

Someone should have told the FBI idiots who went up against Platt and Mattix in 1986 in Miami. Well, the FBI idiots who actually responded to the call.

[Thane_Banquo]

All it takes is a decent centerfire deer rifle caliber to take out someone in a vest. And less that that if a head shot is made.

Most gangbangers prefer 380 ACP or 9mm pistols and submachine guns. And they can't hit crap because they fire one-handed with their hands tilted 90 degrees counter-clockwise just like Snoop Dogg, yo.

Alternatively to wearing a vest, one could simply stand directly in front of them while they fire, because that is the safest place to be.

[GonzoGOP]

While the odds of a cop being shot on any given day are low, the chances of getting hit at some point in a 20 year career is fairly high. Of the three police officers I know well two have been shot at some point in their careers, thankfully neither fatally. One being saved by the vest. Now admittedly that is a very small sample. But opinion tends to be based on personal experience.

For a cop not to put on the vest would be like a football player not putting on a helmet and pads. It is just silly and odds are you won't finish the game. In order to protect the public the police officers must first remain alive themselves.

[Thane_Banquo]

Yeah, but I thought since Miami most police forces required vests. But wasn’t the bad guy shooting a rifle anyway? Vests don’t do jack against rifle rounds.

[backwoods-engineer]

You learn something new every day.

You know what really surprised me when I first learned it? How a .30-06 deer rifle can punch a complete hole through a 4" steel (galvanized) pipe, set up 30 yards from the rifle. And then the bullet keeps going. On the same pipe, a 357 Magnum revolver barely made a dent from the same distance.

Next to that galvanized pipe, a "bulletproof vest" is a t-shirt to a real rifle caliber.

[Larry Lucido]

I wore mine every day, even in 105 degree weather.

Of course, I never believed it was actually “bulletproof.”

[backwoods-engineer]

Yeah, but I thought since Miami most police forces required vests. But wasn’t the bad guy shooting a rifle anyway? Vests don’t do jack against rifle rounds.

Yes, your last sentence is correct. However, Platt had a Ruger Ranch Rifle if memory serves, chambered in .223. Kind of a poodle shooter round. An overgrown .22.

[GonzoGOP]

These vests are not some magic Star Trek shield. All it takes is a decent centerfire deer rifle caliber to take out someone in a vest. And less that that if a head shot is made.

True, but heavy caliber rifles are hard to conceal. Even an AK-47 with the stock folded is going to stick out. The vast majority of police shootings are results of snap shots from concealed weapons. If somebody is robbing a bank with a rifle you call the swat team sniper to deal with the problem.

You can't protect against every possible danger. But you can guard against the most common ones.

[backwoods-engineer]

Alternatively to wearing a vest, one could simply stand directly in front of them while they fire, because that is the safest place to be.

LOL!

[pepperdog]

Texas in the summertime in a BP vest? I just can’t imagine.

[Fido969]

Of course, I never believed it was actually “bulletproof.”

Boy, back in my drinking days, I remember nights when I thought I was "bulletproof."

How I survived those times still amazes me.

[Lurker]

The FIB's made a lot of mistakes during the Platt/Mattix thing. Lack of vests were the least of their problems.

Bulletproofme.com

I've done business with them. Their stuff arrives on time and as advertised.

[runninglips]

WTF is the Federal govt doing supplying money to local police? WE ARE BROKE, and to continue taking the money borrowed from our posterity is simply slow suicide.