The Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- The Pima County Sheriff’s Department will begin replacing some of its bulletproof vests next month.
Second Chance Body Armor Inc., a leading national manufacturer that produced the vests used by the sheriff’s department, sent warning letters to thousands of customers this month.
The letters said a synthetic fiber used in the vests might be deteriorating as it ages and, although tests are inconclusive so far, the vests have been discontinued.
Some officers worry about their safety, especially after a June shooting outside Pittsburgh in which an officer was injured when a bullet reportedly penetrated his Second Chance vest.
“It’s going to be an issue in the back of every deputy’s mind until he or she gets a new vest,” said Detective Mike Powell, chairman of the Pima County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.
But given the logistics of outfitting so many deputies, Powell and others said the department is handling the issue well.
“We’re very pleased with the way the department and Second Chance have addressed this,” Powell said. “Everyone is doing the right thing.”
No other agency in the Tucson area outfits all its members with Second Chance vests.
The Tucson Police Department, the Oro Valley police, the state Department of Public Safety and the University of Arizona police allow officers to choose from several vest varieties, including Second Chance. That means officials don’t know which officers use the vests, and it will be up to the officers to replace them.