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Dallas police may require officers to wear bulletproof vests
WFAA ^
| March 2. 2011
| REBECCA LOPEZ
Posted on 03/03/2011 6:21:42 AM PST by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at wfaa.com ...
TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: bulletproofvests; dallas; police; texas
1
posted on
03/03/2011 6:21:46 AM PST
by
Immerito
To: Immerito
I thought requiring a vest was already SOP for virtually all police forces in the country.
2
posted on
03/03/2011 6:40:54 AM PST
by
Thane_Banquo
(Mitt Romney: He's from Harvard, and he's here to help.)
To: Immerito
I thought requiring a vest was already SOP for virtually all police forces in the country.
3
posted on
03/03/2011 6:41:02 AM PST
by
Thane_Banquo
(Mitt Romney: He's from Harvard, and he's here to help.)
To: Immerito
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.
4
posted on
03/03/2011 6:41:02 AM PST
by
backwoods-engineer
(Any politician who holds that the state accords rights is an oathbreaker and an "enemy... domestic.")
To: Thane_Banquo
That’s what I thought as well.
5
posted on
03/03/2011 6:42:31 AM PST
by
Immerito
(Reading Through the Bible in 90 Days)
To: backwoods-engineer
You learn something new every day.
Thank you,
6
posted on
03/03/2011 6:43:15 AM PST
by
Immerito
(Reading Through the Bible in 90 Days)
To: Thane_Banquo
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.
7
posted on
03/03/2011 6:44:10 AM PST
by
backwoods-engineer
(Any politician who holds that the state accords rights is an oathbreaker and an "enemy... domestic.")
To: backwoods-engineer
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.
8
posted on
03/03/2011 6:45:31 AM PST
by
Thane_Banquo
(Mitt Romney: He's from Harvard, and he's here to help.)
To: Immerito
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.
9
posted on
03/03/2011 6:46:10 AM PST
by
GonzoGOP
(There are millions of paranoid people in the world and they are all out to get me.)
To: 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.
10
posted on
03/03/2011 6:46:38 AM PST
by
Thane_Banquo
(Mitt Romney: He's from Harvard, and he's here to help.)
To: Immerito
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.
11
posted on
03/03/2011 6:48:39 AM PST
by
backwoods-engineer
(Any politician who holds that the state accords rights is an oathbreaker and an "enemy... domestic.")
To: Immerito
I wore mine every day, even in 105 degree weather.
Of course, I never believed it was actually “bulletproof.”
To: Thane_Banquo
Yeah, but I thought since Miami most police forces required vests. But wasnt the bad guy shooting a rifle anyway? Vests dont 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.
13
posted on
03/03/2011 6:50:35 AM PST
by
backwoods-engineer
(Any politician who holds that the state accords rights is an oathbreaker and an "enemy... domestic.")
To: backwoods-engineer
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.
14
posted on
03/03/2011 6:51:50 AM PST
by
GonzoGOP
(There are millions of paranoid people in the world and they are all out to get me.)
To: Thane_Banquo
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!
15
posted on
03/03/2011 6:51:55 AM PST
by
backwoods-engineer
(Any politician who holds that the state accords rights is an oathbreaker and an "enemy... domestic.")
To: Immerito
Texas in the summertime in a BP vest? I just can’t imagine.
16
posted on
03/03/2011 7:16:07 AM PST
by
pepperdog
(Why are Democrats Afraid of a Voter ID Law?)
To: Larry Lucido
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.
17
posted on
03/03/2011 7:39:37 AM PST
by
Fido969
("The hardest thing in the world to understand is income tax." - Albert Einstein)
To: backwoods-engineer
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.
18
posted on
03/03/2011 7:43:59 AM PST
by
Lurker
(The avalanche has begun. The pebbles no longer have a vote.)
To: Immerito
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.
19
posted on
03/04/2011 3:12:59 PM PST
by
runninglips
(government debt = slavery of the masses)
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