Justice Dept. to investigate bullet-proof vests

[Preacherman]

From Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,103437,00.html):

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Justice Dept. Reviews Police Body Armor

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department launched an intensive review Tuesday of the reliability of police body armor (search), which officials say can lose strength over time and put officers' lives in danger.

The initiative will focus on vests made with the bullet-resistant material Zylon (search), manufactured by Toyobo Co. Ltd. in Japan and used in many types of body armor.

Chuck Canterbury, president of the Fraternal Order of Police (search), said in a letter Monday to Attorney General John Ashcroft that the company has acknowledged Zylon may lose 20 percent of its strength within just two years. The vests carry a five-year warranty.

Ashcroft said in a statement that the review is intended to "ensure the reliability of bullet-resistant vests worn by officers as they patrol our streets and keep our communities safe.

"As all law enforcement organizations know, bulletproof vests exist to save the lives of law enforcement officers," Ashcroft said.

Vests have saved an estimated 2,700 officers' lives over the past 30 years, Ashcroft said. FBI statistics also show that 324 officers who were wearing body armor have been fatally shot over the past decade, 120 of those in the upper torso that is protected by the vest.

In 2002, one officer was fatally shot through his vest, with a high-powered round from a .30-.30 rifle, according to the FBI.

Questions about the vests have led some police executives to warn their officers against wearing them, which Canterbury said actually makes things more dangerous. If the Justice Department finds that Zylon does degrade quickly, the FOP wants the government to stop certifying the vests and force their makers to replace them.

Announcement of the review comes one day after the Massachusetts attorney general filed a lawsuit seeking to stop sale of Zylon-based vests in that state.

The initiative announced by Ashcroft will include:

-A study by the National Institute of Justice (search) on Zylon-based vests and how they are certified by the government.

-A summit of law enforcement organizations, vest makers and testing groups to go over the study and determine whether Zylon-based armor remains suitable for police.

-Assistance for state and local law enforcement agencies in replacing any defective equipment.

 

[tyme]

Why cite a case of a vest failing to defeat a (rifle) round it wasn't designed to defeat?
Idiot reporter?

 

[Preacherman]

No, there really does seem to be a problem with the material used in some vests. See, for example, Second Chance's free upgrade offer here: also, the fabric manufacturer's admissions here.

 

[AJ Dual]

NIJ + modeling clay = dead cops.

Sure, the Zylon thing needs to be made known, but that's just a pittance.

The entire NIJ vest classification system needs to be overhauled. The backface deformation standard is a meaningless joke, and keeps lots of wearable (i.e. actually likely to be worn 100% of the time) vests from being considered by CYA and "by the book" police departments.

The backface deformation standard for blunt trauma has literaly gotten police killed, because vests need to be much heavier, stiffer, and thicker to avoid making that dent in modeling clay to conform to NIJ II, IIA, III etc. when a much thinner and comfortable vest would still actually stop the round.

The overly heavy vests don't get worn, and people die, when a much more comfortable vest that dosen't meet the "standard" would have sufficed.

 

[Don Galt]

So, who makes these "better than NIJ" vests? Is there a company out there making better ones that police can't use because of their departments?

Or is this more theoretical, and the case that without the standards being the way they are, current manufacturers would make these vests you describe?

 

[Carlos]

Too bad anybody ever used Zylon in the first place.

Second Chance should have kept using the layered Kevlar and things would have been peachy.

Now Richard Davis has a bunch of LEO's pissed at Second Chance over something that wasn't their fault, really, in the first place. Their remedy wasn't good enough for them.

The Zylon company should be sued out of existence by Second Chance and all the other vest makers.

 

[JPM70535]

AFAIK, 2nd Chance has always recommended that their (BULLET RESISTANT) vests be replaced every five years due to deterioration of the material caused by among other things, perspiration and UV radiation.
At least what our department was using to secure funds to replace our vests. By the way, our vests were Kevlar, not Zylon, or at least that's what 2nd Chance sold them as.

One more thought on the subject of Vests. None of them are bullet proof, and none of them that I am aware of will even slow down a high powered rifle round without the Titanium insert in place. with all the shortcomings inherent in the vests, wearing one is still the smart thing to do. If you don't wear it, your body is not going to resist any bullet

 

[AJ Dual]

Yes, I was referring to Second Chance body armor.

And Don Galt, it's not really a matter of "better than NIJ" but that the NIJ standard is counter-productive.

The NIJ standard includes not merely stopping penetration of the bullet, but also specifies the size and depth of the "dent" in the inside of the vest. This is tested in an arbitrary manner with modeling clay, and has little to do with what kind of blunt trauma a human torso can withstand.

Because of the back face deformation portion of the standard, vests wishing to comply with the NIJ have to be heavy and stiff (i.e. hot and uncomfortable) well beyond what's necessary to stop mere penetration. These heavy and hot vests don't get worn as often, and are also arguably bulky enough that they're visible and criminals are also more tempted for head, groin, and leg shots.

It's essentially the body armor version of the argument that a Kel-Tec P32 that's with you always is better than a .44 mag left at home.

Because Second Chance focuses more on penetration prevention and wearability with the theory that a more comfortable vest is likely to be worn when needed, and is a less visible invitation for a head shot, that it's worth doing at the expense of the NIJ's backface deformation standard. Because of this, Second Chance products either receive an NIJ rating well below their ability to resist penetration, or no NIJ rating at all. And there are police departments that insist on the NIJ standards, mandating heavier products the officers are tempted to ditch entirely.

 

[Don Galt]

Ah! Thank you Andrew!

Do the second chance people have their own rating system-- say a penetration rating? Or are the prevented from publishing that kind of info?

Thanks again for the explanation....

Don

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

This goes a lot further than backface deformation - so far at least two Second Chance vests have failed to stop rounds they were rated to stop and police officers have been both wounded (Forest Hills, PA PD) and killed (Officer Tony Zepetella in CA) as a result.

Second Chance does design their vests to barely meet NIJ certifications in order to produce a comfortable, wearable vest. The problem with that approach is even minimal degradation of the materials and now the vest begins to fail to stop rated threats or produce backface deformation that would cause serious injury in a human being.

Because of the back face deformation portion of the standard, vests wishing to comply with the NIJ have to be heavy and stiff (i.e. hot and uncomfortable) well beyond what's necessary to stop mere penetration.

The NIJ test is also notoriously generous in ways that real life isn't - for example, penetrations 2" from the edge of the vest or less than 2" apart aren't counted and the vest is smoothed flat between shots to prevent bunching.